When in Rome
by catzlovecheeze
Summary: Dave is learning how to be a slave trainer in a Rome-like society called Domunus. His first slave is an angry, nubby-horned troll who's got a mind of his own. DaveKat Slavestuck. Spoilers for Homestuck, and major trigger warnings.
1. Chapter 1

You press close to your brother, trying not to get lost in the crowds of people in the streets. You were walking to the market for supplies, and you were nervous but excited. You usually stayed on the plantation where you and your brother lived - which was about twenty miles outside of the main city, Domunus - and you had been here before, but very rarely. At seven years old, your years outnumbered your trips to the city.

Your brother, on the other hand, was much more surefooted on these cobblestones. He came here often, about every two weeks. He usually left you at home, but you, being seven and a big boy, eager to see the city, had begged to come until he had agreed to bring you along. But he had made you wear a weird pair of glasses; they were dark, and he'd called them "shades". They'd made everything look too dark for a while, but eventually your vision adjusted and things looked normal again. He had a pair as well, though his were pointy at the ends.

He said they'd make it so people couldn't see your eyes, which were unusual; they were red. He'd explained that even though there was nothing wrong with your eyes, things that were different tended to frighten the people in the city.

Your brother watched over you like a parent, and he was one, in a way. Your father had died in battle shortly after you were concived, and your mother died shortly after you were born. That left only you and Bro on the giant plantation, which was the reason you were here right now. You needed some things from a metal workers, then Bro was showing you all around the city. You wanted to see it, not remembering your earlier visits, seeing as you were very young.

You thought back to all the times you had had to stay home, watched over by your servants . The servants, though technically owned by you, were more like family than anything else. Their quarters were nice, near you, and they ate the same quality food you ate. They worked in the fields, stables, and house, which you did not, but their workload wasn't heavy, and the fields and stables you and Bro had weren't raising food and animals for sale, but rather to feed everyone on the plantation and to produce milk, wool, and meat. You also had a few riding horses.

The servants had been with you as long as you could remember, and a few had cared for you like nannys. One of the women had nursed you when you were young and motherless. You and her child, a young boy named Tero, were close friends. Not like you and Bro, though. You were closer to Bro than anyone else.

Most of the servants you two had were the children or grandchildren of the original servants; about two dozen in total. The original servants were old now, and the youngest - their great-grandchild - was a three-year-old girl.

The original servants had been captured generations ago, when the Domunus empire had just begun expanding. These servants had been purchased as slaves by your parents - such a long time ago that many had even cared for Bro when he was a child. When an older servant had died, Bro had helped dig her grave, and had cried while doing it. That was one of the only times you've ever seen your Bro cry. He said she had been like a grandmother to him. You didn't know her that well, since you were so young when she died; only about four.

The servants were human, like you and your Bro, even if they didn't look like you. While you and Bro had light skin, light hair, and red and orange eyes, respectively, the servants had brown hair, black hair, and one even red hair. They had skin ranging from light to dark, and eyes from brown to blue to green.

When you asked Bro why they didn't look like you, he said that you and him didn't look like a lot of people. That you looked different.

In the city, you can see that.

No one has skin as light as yours, or hair. A few people give you curious glances as you pass by, looking at your white-blond hair, or perhaps at your shades - though glasses exist, they are not common, and shades are even more novel - and you can see none of them have red eyes, or orange eyes either. Most of them have dark eyes, a few with blue.

A half-excited, half-frightened shiver runs through as you look around at all the people in the marketplace, and the tall buildings all around you. You hold onto Bro's arm tightly.

Domunus City was so big.

You and Bro stop at a metalworks store, where he gets the things he needs. Strong chains and collars; these were for his job, his job that made it possible for you two to have such a big house, to have horses for riding, to have enough food to feed both you two and the servants without ever going hungry. Why your brother had to go into the city often and leave you at home.

Your brother was a slave trainer.

He'd pointed out the slave auction building as you two had come in, and he had said very often before that he couldn't take you into the city, that he would another day, but that he was going to buy slaves that day. He didn't want to take you to the auctions - they were loud and crowded and far too rough a place for a seven-year-old.

When you say slaves, you aren't talking about the friendly human servants, oh no. You would never chain them up. You would never have to.

These chains were for the slave quarters, a few miles from your house. Where the "training" part of Bro's job came in.

Bro was the only one who went there, unless Bro needed a servant or two to help him. They didn't mind helping him; they didn't identify with or even really like the slaves, who were wild and violent and inhuman.

A clink from the chains as Bro tugs on them, testing their strength. They had to be strong as possible.

Stronger than a troll.

You knew trolls were strong, even if you were never allowed near them. Neither you nor the children servants were allowed anywhere near the slave quarters. They were far away enough from your house that your Bro and any adult servants helping him had to ride horses to get out there.

You shake your attention from trolls, turning it instead to the store. It wasn't often you came to the city, you may as well look around while you can. You gaze about at all the metal crafts; hammers, plows, and...oh.

Swords.

You stare, but don't dare touch. You move closer to them; Bro is nearby with the chains and the store is small and none too crowded; you're not afraid to get lost. You're mesmerized by the swords; you've always wanted to learn how to use one, but Bro says you're too young.

That doesn't mean you can't look.

You move along the row of swords, growing a bit bolder, moving further back to see more of them. You stop at the back of the store, with the sound and light of the city coming in from the open double doors, as you stare at one of the swords near the door and how it catches the light.

You hear someone shouting loudly and angrily from the street, as well as the faint sound of clinking, and look up, startled, out the doors into the streets.

Your heart races as you see a group of slave drivers moving a line of trolls, trolls, in chains towards where Bro had said the slave auction was.

Your fingers itch to take of the dark glasses, to see better, though you don't. Your so excited; real, live trolls! You've never seen them before, not in person; just paintings in books, or heard about them from others.

You know enough about slaves to know these trolls are probably freshly captured from the lands Domunus is expanding into. They still have on unusual clothing; most slaves wear plain tunics, but these ones have on a strange style you've never seen before. The clothes of their native land, you guess.

More interesting than their clothing was their skin. They had grey skin, so much darker than any you'd seen before; even your darkest-skinned servant had skin the color of tree bark. These troll's skin was like heavy, dark smoke. They had black hair with orange horns pushed up through the locks, all different shapes and sizes. The idea of horns reminded you of a goat or bull, but not all these horns were like animal's horns.

As the line of slaves progresses, chains around their ankles clinking with their hands tied behind their backs, one comes into view that really strikes you. You can tell he's a boy, even from here, and he's short, shorter than the others; he looks like he's about your size. Very young. He has shorter horn than the others; and they're rounded on the tips. The ankle chains look loose on him, smacking his anklebones, and for a second, he turns his head.

His eyes lock onto yours, and you're glad you have shades on.

His eyes are yellow, which is a shock to you in itself, but what really gets you is the furious, despair-filled look he hits you with. You flinch back physically, and can't tear your gaze from his.

Then he vanishes from view, behind a building as he moves down the street with the rest of the slaves.

You turn, feeling a bit shaken, and find Bro, who's ready to leave the store, having gotten what he needed.

You two spend the rest of the day in the city, and with the excitement of the crowds, the huge buildings, and the play you go see at an outdoor theater with seats of stone, the troll boy is soon forgotten.

That is, until you pass the biggest building yet as you two are heading out an hour or so before sunset, going back towards your horse, left at a farmer's house whom your Bro knows, right outside the city. You stare up at the building, awestruck.

"Bro, what IS that?"

"That's a Colosseum, lil' man."

"Can we go inside it? Please?"

Bro shakes his head. "No Dave, we have to head home." He cuts you off as you try to protest that you won't stay long. "And," he adds, "It's not a place for children."

"What happens in there?" You ask, pacified from your desire to go in, but still curious about the building.

"A lot of fighting. Gladiators fighting one another, fighting lions, fighting trolls. Sometimes they have the trolls fight each other."

You think back to the angry eyes of the boy troll.

"...Do you train your trolls to fight?" You ask.

"Sometimes I train them to fight, sell them to an owner who'll enter them in coleussum fights." He notices your withdrawn expression and mistakes your thoughtfulness for fear, reaching down and putting a hand on your shoulder. "Don't look so scared, little man, they don't ever hurt me. They might be strong, but not stronger than your big brother." He grins.

"Does it hurt them to fight?" You ask, feeling strange. A pressure in your chest. Bro clicks his tongue, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about them. They're just animals. They're built like people; arms and legs, but they're not like us. They're dumber than dogs. They don't understand us when we talk, and they just scream at each other, and they kill one another, too. They're like sharks; violent, stupid animals. The only reason we don't eat them along with cows and pigs is because they taste bad," Bro finishes, chuckling, ruffling your hair.

You smile, pacified. If they really are dumb, and so violent they would only fight anyways, it must not be that bad to fight them.

You can't help but think back to boy troll, though. He didn't look stupid.

Just scared and mad.

Maybe you just didn't see right, didn't see he was dumb. Your bro was super smart, and he was pretty much always right about everything. Like when he showed you how to start a fire with a piece of glass. You didn't think it was possible, but he made it happen. It was super cool, just like him.

You look back up on the stone building. Maybe troll fights would be cool, too. Exciting, like a hero fighting a monster, or a knight fighting a dragon.

"Can I ever go there?"

"When your older, sure. I don't have a problem with them fighting animals, but it's too bloody for a kid your age. I bet you'd like it when you're old enough."

You nod, smiling as you walk along with your Bro, leaving the city.

You bet you would, too.

That night, though, your dreams are haunted by a hurting, angry, yellow-eyed boy.

Catz: If you have any questions about this fic or anything, you can PM me or leave them in the comments. I'll respond to PMs and comments on my profile. Don't be shy to talk to me - I love talking to you guys, and I'm never bothered to see a message.

On the other hand, DaveKat. Fun!


	2. Chapter 2

You swing up into the front seat of the wagon, next to your bro, who was holding the reigns of the four-horse team. You grin shakily at him, nervous but excited, and he smiles back, reassuring and amused.

"Don't worry so much, lil' man. It'll be fine; I'll be right here to show you what to do."

This helps you relax a bit, and you reply with an, "Ok". Your bro starts off toward the city at a trot, the medium pace causing a soft wind to run through your hair and lightly prick at your eyes; you've got your shades hanging from the neckline of your shirt, deciding to keep them off until you reach the city. Helpful as they are, you aren't used to wearing them. You've spent most of your fifteen years away from civilization, on a plantation, after all.

Fifteen years. You can hardly believe it yourself. Finally done with your studies - Bro had hired a tutor for you when you were about eight, to teach you reading, writing, figuring, geography - the works. You even knew a little Latin. Bro, however, had been the one to teach you things not strictly academic; farming, horseriding, and, starting about two years ago, swordsmanship.

And now he'd be showing you the family trade.

In Domunus, it was customary for the firstborn to take over the family profession and the shop/farm along with it. The unlucky second-born and beyond often got much less of the inheritance, if any. All children were expected to be apprenticed, but without the money to start a business, opening shop could be very difficult.

However, though you were the second born, Bro said he considered you to be his kid enough to let you take it over when he was gone. You knew that wouldn't be gone for a while, as the age difference between you two was not that large, and you pointed that out. He grinned at you, saying that you two would just have to be "partners in crime".

You had no objections to being business partners with Bro. Besides, you'd always sort of wanted to be a slave-trainer. You couldn't really say exactly why; you guess you'd just always been really interested in trolls since you saw them for the first time all those years ago.

Which is why you were riding on a slave-wagon towards the city with Bro on your fifteenth birthday. The wagon was well-equipped for slaves; it had a metal frame and strong walls, with chains attached to them. A little light came in through a barred window. And though the wagon was empty now, it wouldn't be when you were heading back.

Your name is Dave Strider, and today you were getting your first slave to train.

You howl with rage as they tear him away from your grasp, two men holding you back as two others pull him away.

They KNEW you were morails. Cold as your last owner was, he wasn't cruel enough to break up morails; he had sold you as a pair.

These people, however, were cruel enough.

They drag him towards the coldbloods section as he cries out for you, and you scream back. You'll never see him again, just like you never saw Terezi after they sold her. God - it had hurt so badly to see her go, but you still had Gamzee. He had gotten you through it.

And now they had taken him from you.

NOTHING ever hurt worse than this. Not seeing your village burn as you were caught and shackled as a child. Not all the beatings from your old owners that left scars on your back and arms. Not even losing Terezi, hard as that had been; because you still had Gam. Every time something bad happened, you two had each other to lean on, to keep you strong and to keep strong for. You'd been together since your village had gone up in flames; he had been with you through it all.

And now he was gone, and you had nothing. He was your everything and your only thing, and they had ripped him away from you. They'd sell him to who-knows-where; you'd never ever see him again.

You fight and struggle against the guards who were dragging you somewhere - you didn't care where anymore - because even though you knew they might kill you for disobedience, it didn't matter if you didn't have him. He was the only thing worth living for to you.

Your name is Karkat Vantas, and you don't give a fuck anymore.

Catz: And Karkat makes his first appearance! And the poor baby lost his morail. ;-;

This is pretty fun to write; and I think I'm doing pretty well. It's kind of difficult - I don't have any personal experience with slave to draw from, obviously. But I think I've got some idea of it.

Until later, readers~


	3. Chapter 3

As you and Bro walk to the arena, you scan the area through darkened vision as Bro instructs you on what's going to happen.

"I'm gonna buy one or two, and you buy any one you want. Just stand up and shout out; your price cap is about fifty silver pieces. Can't be gettin too fancy." He says.

"What should I look for?" You ask. "Anything in particular?"

"Well, trolls range from feisty to quiet; they either want to get away or get it over with.I would say you should try to pick one that's acting up; after all, you can't train a slave if it's already tame. You can only teach a tame one tricks."

You and Bro walk up the steps of the arena, and after about ten minutes, two slavedrivers lead out a long-haired female who's quiet in their grip. She looks sulky, with horns that stick nearly straight up. One driver shouts out, in a loud, deep voice, "Female, twenty-five years, yellow-blood. Number one."

You lean over to Bro as shouted bids go up around the ring, asking, "What's the number for?"

"It's the troll's number - they put them in numbered stalls in the loading grounds. You've gotta remember the number you buy."

"Does the blood type matter?" You had a book about trolls, but it just mentioned they had different blood colors, and nothing beyond that.

"Warmbloods, which are red through yellow, are usually less strong than and have shorter life spans than coldbloods, which are green through purple. I usually stick to warmbloods and low coldbloods - blue and purple-bloods are beasts. They're fuckin' strong." He replies. "You might want to get a warmblood this time around."

You turn your attention back to the ring, watching as they pull out a male, shouting out "male, thirty years, green-blood" and more shouts go up.

You watch for a troll you'd want, but none really strike you as the bidding goes on. Bro gets two nice trolls - both male, a yellowblood and greenblood. You watch on, though.

You hear screaming coming from the entry door, snapping your attention to it. Two drivers drag out a short, screaming troll, who's fighting like crazy, snapping and kicking at his holders.

Your heart skips a beat as you see his horns are very short, and rounded at the end.

Oh.

You get a sense of deja vu you can't quite place.

One driver calls out "male, fifteen years, redblood." You stand up quickly and shout out, "Ten silver pieces!"

In the quiet of the arena that follows - no other shouts, silent save for murmurs in the crowd - you almost think you've done something wrong.

"One, two, and sold!" The driver calls out. "Number 413."

You sit back down, turning to Bro, who's eyebrows were visible above his shades.

"Didn't know you were so ambitious, lil' man. That troll's insane."

"You told me to get a fighter!" You respond.

"I did; that's just not one I'd start you out on. Nothing a pair of Strider's can't handle, though," Bro chuckles, standing up. "We got our trolls; wanna head out?"

"Sure," You say, standing. "Hey Bro?"

"Yeah, lil' man?"

"Why didn't anyone else bid on that one?"

"He's a redblood; they're rare, and people typically don't like them because they're the bottom of the food chain, so to speak. They're the weakest and have the shortest life spans."

"Shit, did I buy some pansy troll?" You ask, as you two reach your wagon and jump in.

"No way. Even a redblood can pull like two of these horses and live about as long as us." Bro answers, turning the horses towards the troll's holding stalls. "Another reason no one was bidding was because he was crazy; most of these people are just farmers or something; just looking for a well-behaved troll to work in the fields. And most trainers don't even bother with one that crazy. I probably wouldn't have for a redblood; they sell for the least." Bro turns to you. "That's why you got him for so cheap. Bargain deal."

"What do they do to the ones who don't sell?" You ask.

"Usually stick them in the Colosseum with a sword and a bunch of lions. They're done for quicker than the trained trolls, which is why they bother to train the others in the first place. The crowds want a fight, not a bloodbath."

You two reach the holding stalls, Bro pulls in the reigns, and you go to the stalls of his trolls first, both in the two-hundreds. Bro hands over the coins and the dealers hand over the chain-leashes. Bro starts leading them back, and though one troll follows quietly, looking sullen, the other balks, snarling.

Bro turns in a flash and kicks the balking troll's legs out from under him, and as he falls to the ground with a surprised cry, Bro smacks him upside the back of his head. The troll hisses, and Bro hands you the chain of the better-behaved troll, before kneeling down on the ground next to the other one, who's just glaring up at him, not getting up.

Bro yanks him to his feet, kicking him in the back of the knee when the troll doesn't move right away. The troll nearly falls, stumbling forward to keep his balance, and Bro takes the opportunity to yank on the leash, pulling him towards the wagon. The troll just follows now, evidently giving up the fight over getting hit again, but his face tints green. You think he's flushing or something; probably embarrassed the hell out of him to give up after showing a tough front.

Bro shackles the insubordinate green-blood in first, then takes the chain from you with a "thanks man, tugging the yellow-blood into the wagon. He climbs in more willingly than the other, not pulling his hands away as Bro snaps the shackles on his wrists.

Closing the wagon door, you and Bro head back to the stalls to get your troll.

"Why do you think the yellow-blood doesn't fight as much as the green?" You ask.

"The green-blood looks like he's freshly captured; he doesn't have any scars on his back like the yellow-blood does." Bro answers. "He's probably still naive; thinks fighting proves something. The yellow-blood is surly, but knows better than to fight. He knows it'll get him whipped."

You two approach the four-hundreds, and you hear something that sounds like thumping. You turn the corners, seeing stall 413 shaking. He must be kicking the door or something from the inside.

Bro turns to you, saying, "This is your troll, so you pay for him, and you lead him back. I'll tell you how to shackle him in, but won't do it for you."

"Great," you mutter, and Bro grins, handing you ten silver pieces. You call over a nearby dealer, and he takes the silver, calling over another dealer to open the door.

The troll nearly falls out as soon as they open it, stumbling forward a bit. He was close to the door; you think he was slamming against it with his shoulder. His feet are shackled with only about a foot of chain between them - enough to walk, but not run. He has his hands chained behind his back, and unlike the other trolls, who just have regular collars and chain-leashes, he's got a choke-collar; one designed to get tighter with pressure, but not ever loosen enough to slip off over his head. His eyes are squinted against the bright light, and he hisses softly, cracking his eyes open a bit wider.

You draw in a breath.

They're yellow around the edges, where your eyes would be white, but the irises are red. He glares at you angrily, and you feel that same deja vu wash over you.

The trainer has his leash, and looks from you to Bro, unsure which one to hand it too. Bro nods towards you, and you take it hesitantly, the metal cool from being in the dark stable. You tighten your grip on it as you turn to go back to the wagon, and you hear a growl behind you and feel the leash go slack, before it's pulled from your hands with a thump.

You turn around, confused and startled, to see Bro with his knee in the troll's back. The troll's lying on the ground, gasping and startled. Bro looks up at you.

"Lesson one: Never turn your back on a troll. Especially an angry one."

"What happened?" You ask.

"He lunged for you. Probably gonna slit your throat with his teeth." He answers, getting up off the troll. "You wanna try that again?"

You tug on the collar, and the troll doesn't move, lying on the ground. You pull harder, and he gasps soundlessly, his breath getting cut off, and after a few moments of defiance, grudgingly gets to his feet, scowling at you.

You lead him towards the wagon, walking sideways this time, so you can watch him as you walk. Bro grins and gives you a thumbs up, and you grin back without taking your eyes off the angry troll.

Getting the troll in the wagon proves difficult. Bro warns you this time to climb in before him, so he can't get the drop on you. He won't climb in, standing a few feet from the wagon-door, and you have to tighten the choke-chain until his face turns red for him to climb up. He turns to sit on the edge, then tuck his feet under him to get in; he can't use his hands, bound behind his back, and his ankle-chain isn't long enough to just step into the car.

You give him air back, and tug him over to a corner. He won't sit down, the insubordinate little shit, so you hook your foot around his ankle-chain, pulling it forward as you slam both hands into his chest. He hisses as he falls to the floor, off-balance, his back hitting the wall. You quickly kneel to snap his wrists into the wall shackles, watching carefully and trying to keep your hands away from his teeth.

He snaps at you as you get close, and you pull back reflexively. You look to your Bro.

"Got any hints?"

"Try this," he calls, throwing you a piece of cloth. "Use it as a gag- he won't be able to bite you then."

You take hold of it, and line it up with the troll, who only looks confused, still facing you. You dart forward quickly, shoving it in his mouth before he can turn away or snap at you, and he gives a muffled, surprised protest as you quickly tie the cloth tightly around the back of his head.

Shackling his wrists proves to be much easier after that. You don't have to take off the chains already there; there's enough wrist for both pairs.

You stand, giving him one last look as you stand up, and red eyes burn back angrily at you.

You feel something weird run through you quickly,

It melts away as you jump down into the sunlight and your Bro gives you a high-five, sliding the door to the wagon shut. You swing up into the front seat with him, and he takes the reigns up in both hands.

"Let's hit the ol' dusty trail," he says, and good god you hope he was being ironic because that's the lamest thing you've heard all day.

The horses start up, and the five of you start towards home.

Catz: Long chappie :)


	4. Chapter 4

You feel your heart quicken as the wagon approaches the slave quarters. You've never been here before - Bro never let you near them. Now, seeing them come into view for the first time, it was exciting.

It wasn't really what you had expected - you had expected little huts, four of five trolls in each. Instead, you got a big-ass barn. It wasn't painted; just wood-colored. You could see metal beams in between planks of wood. The barn was long, but only one story high - you guys didn't need any hayloft, you guessed, seeing how trolls ate mainly meat.

Behind the barn was a huge, fenced-in area. The fence looked about ten feet tall, and had barbed wire at the top. Through the chain-link, you could see that there were other sections within the main enclosure, fenced off from one another. There are various structures within the fenced-in area that you couldn't see too well yet, due to the distance and the chain-link fence obscuring them.

You let out a low whistle, and Bro chuckled.

"Like it?" he asked.

"Hell yeah, it looks awesome." You reply.

"Wait 'till you see the inside of the barn. I've only got three trolls in there already; you got a few stalls to choose from for yours. You decided on a name for him yet?"

You blink. "Am I supposed to name him?"

"Trick question. You really shouldn't; you're just gonna sell him anyways."

"Alright."

You two reach the barn, hopping down from the wagon. You pull open the wagon door, and your troll squints against the bright light, growling through the gag. You hop up, unhook his wrists from the wagon, and pull him to his feet with a light tug on the choke-collar. You push him off the wagon first so he doesn't have a height advantage, and lead him towards the barn, watching him all the way.

You walk into the quiet, dark barn. There are lines of things like stalls, but when you look closer, you see they're actually closer to jail cells - the door is made up of bars, though the bottom part has a wooden covering. Bro notices you looking at it.

"That gives them some privacy - they get antsy and weird without any." You nod and peer in one, still watching the troll from the corner of your eye.

There's another troll in this one - a male, who has horns that curve like a rams. He has a brown cut on his arm, and stares back at you, apprehensive and curious, but not moving from his spot against the back wall. He could - he's chained to the back wall, but it looks to have about five feet of slack in the chain. The stall looks to be about ten feet deep and ten wide. He's got a blanket in there with him, and a canteen, but nothing else. He's dressed in a ragged pair of light brown, knee-length, loose shorts - basically the same thing as the new three trolls.

You move onto a stall with the door open. It's empty, and looks to be the same size as the brown-blood's. You look to Bro.

"This one?"

He shrugs. "Sure."

You pull the troll into the stall with you, snapping the separate shackles to his wrists - you see the chain isn't attached to the wooden paneling of the barn, but one of the metal support bars - and unclip the other shackles holding his wrists behind his back. He gives you a look like he's deciding whether or not to lunge at you, with his wrists no longer stuck together, but decides against it. You move to his feet, unshackling his ankles, before taking off his leash. Then you move to take the gag out his mouth.

He simply glares at you, but doesn't growl or do shit. You grab the metal restraints off the floor and walk out, closing the door and locking the multiple locks on it.

"He's a weird one." Bro says.

"What do you mean?" You reply.

"You saw how he was at the auction, how crazy, but he's got scars all up and down his arms and back. He's not just some young, fiery, fresh-captured troll that's think's his defiance proves something - he's been a slave for some time."

You look at him inn the stall, and he's moved to the corner, his back turned to you, staring at the wall. "He's moping or some shit."

"That's normal for when they're brought to a new place. He'll be fine."

Bro shows you the tack room, where you leave the chains and get a blanket and canteen of water, along with a hard biscuit, dropping them in through the bars of your troll's stall, throwing them well within his reach. The troll flinches at the noise, but makes no move for them.

You and Bro move the other two in stalls, the green-blood giving only a growl or two. Bro smacks him for each.

When you've got them settled the sun is heading down. You and Bro unharness the horses, riding two back and leading the other two, leaving the wagon there.

"The training can wait until tomorrow. It's gonna be a long day." Bro says.


	5. Chapter 5

You really hate humans.

The wagon ride is spent not looking at the other two trolls in the little sunlight coming in through the window. You don't even bother looking up when one of them gives a hesistant, question-sounding phrase in a language you don't understand. Though some trolls from villages close to your's share your language, many trolls are from farther off, and you cant understand them.

Though you, Gamzee, and Terezi made some efforts in your earliest years of enslavement to learn other's slaves foreign languages, you were never in one place long enough to make it count. You'd get the basics down before you were sold again, moved to a new place with new foreign-speaking slaves. The only language it really benefitted you to learn was the human's weird language - Domunian - as it was more constant; nearly every human that owned you used it. You were never formally taught it, but picked up on a lot of it from nearly eight years of enslavement.

The cart stops and the door slides open again. You don't fight back against the humans when they take you in the barn - you don't see any point. Your anger had all burned up at the auction, leaving only sadness and exhuastion in it's place. You don't have the will to fight.

He was gone. Your loopy, perfect morail was gone. You'd never see him again. Without him, you felt nothing but empty.

So you don't fight it as the younger human leads you into the stall, chaining you to the wall. You curl up in a corner, letting the sadness cover you, like a heavy blanket.

But you wait until the humans leave to cry.

Catz: Short chappie.

Poor Karkitty :(


	6. Chapter 6

"Alright," Bro says, as you two approach the barn that morning, "I'll have the green-blood out today, and you can have your red-blood. I'll show you how to train yours by training mine."

"What will we be training them to do?" You ask.

"Considering how fiery yours was, I'd say fighters. They'll go up against gladiators and lions. Hell, they might even win," your bro chuckles.

You reach the barn, going into the tack room. He turns to the choke-collar-leash's peg, but there's only one.

"Shit, I forgot my leash! I took it to fix a broken link - must've left it at the shed. I'm going to get it - wake your troll up and get a muzzle on him." Bro says, going back out.

You take a muzzle, looking at it. It kind of looks like a muzzle for a dog, but flatter - to be used on a troll's human-like face. You grab your leash and head out.

You head into the redblood's stall. He pulled the blanket over himself at some point in the night, and the water canteen looks about half-empty now. He's still asleep, curled up and facing the wall. You kneel and nudge his shoulder gently with your hand, and he jerks awake, scrambling backwards, teeth bared.

Looks like he's gotten over his moping from yesterday, at least. You dart forward with the muzzle, but he's wiser than yesterday. He jerks away, into a corner, and you move forward, trapping him there. You grab his wrist-chains to keep him from scratching you and use a knee to pin them, taunt, onto the floor, to keep his hands down, as you kneel next to him and try to get the muzzle on. He kicks you in the chest, knocking you backwards, but you roll back upright. You keep him from getting out of the corner by tackling as he tries to scramble out, shoving him back against the wall. You kneel on the chains again, but sit on his legs as well this time, practically fucking straddling him.

He tries to bite you, but you fasten the muzzle over his head, brushing your chest against his in the process, and wow, that feels fucking weird. Weird - but good. You mentally cringe at the thought of getting even slightly turned on by brushing against a troll, but remind yourself that no, your not a freak, just a healthy teenager with blind hormones. These hormones are like some dude that stared too long at the sun, and they just don't get that this is a troll, and that that's pretty much bestiality. Blind as a motherfucking bat up in here. Nothing unusual.

Even with a inner morality crisis averted, you're still suddenly uncomfortably aware of your position with the troll. You get off his lap, not missing his slightly uncomfortable expression and embarrassed flush. However, you just fasten the leash to his collar and pull him to his feet.

The atmosphere feels a little heavy, a little awkward, and it's a relief to hear the barn door open. As you back out the door to keep an eye on the troll and meet your bro, he tosses you a pair of handcuffs.

"There ya go. He's gonna need his arms today, but use those to get him to and from the training ring. Doesn't need his arms then." Bro says, going into the tack room.

You go into the stall again, and though the troll darts away, you just grab his wrist-chains and haul him back. He can't bite you or scratch at you, but he does kick at you. You just sweep his other leg out from under him, and he falls on his ass. You take this as an opportunity to snap the cuffs on and the shackles off. You pull him to his feet and drag him out into the corridor, as he snarls angrily behind you in a strange tongue.

Bro's just going into his troll's stall as you come out of yours. You watch through the open door, and are more than a little shocked when Bro wakes his still-sleeping troll with a kick to it's ribs. It cries out, a mix of pain, surprise, and fury, as Bro holds it down with a knee in it's now-bruised ribs and slips the restraints on and shackles off in a matter of seconds. He yanks the leash and pulls it out of the stall as it's still struggling to get to it's feet.

"...Why'd you kick him?" You ask after a moment of silence. You'd never known Bro to be cruel to anything, animal or human, but that kick was completely uncalled for.

"If you don't show 'em whose boss from the start, they start getting cocky. Try to fight you. I've been kind to them before, and it always comes back and bites me in the ass. Trust me - it's best to show them you aren't any pushover." He answers.

Well, ok...? You guess that makes sense, maybe, but that doesn't mean it seems right or fair. The troll hadn't really done anything to provoke it, after all. Sort of seemed like a "guilty until proven innocent" thing; Bro just assumed the troll would become rebellious if he was treated kindly, without the troll actually doing anything.

Bro heads out with the greenblood, and you tug at your troll's collar, but he looks like he's frozen to the spot, eyes wide and staring at your Bro's back. He looks scared, and he's shaking very slightly.

You wave your hand in front of his face, trying to snap him out of it, and he jumps, turning towards you. He takes in your confused, slightly concerned expression and his cheeks flush red, and he growls in embarrassment and anger as you lead him from the barn.

You and him follow Bro to the fenced-in area behind the barn.

Catz: Longer chappie.

Dave and Karkat fighting over the restraints...is KIND of hot? Not that hot tho.

Bro's a douche potato to trolls.

Leave a review, Skittles~


	7. Chapter 7

You tug your troll through the metal gates, following your Bro to a smaller, fenced-in section of the big area. Your troll's stopped growling, and you're glad; though you cannot put to words how much you respect and appreciate your brother, you don't really want him to have any excuse to hit your troll, because you think he would, given the chance.

You understand trolls are animals. But you never liked seeing people hit their dogs or horses, either. Strangely enough, Bro never seemed to like it either, and he never hit his other animals; yet he kicked his troll today without a second thought.

You're lifted from your thoughts as your Bro speaks. "We're gonna be training them to be fighters, so we've gotta teach them to fight. You know enough swordplay to take yours on." He tosses you two wooden practice swords. You catch them and uncuff your troll, mindful of his actions, and hand him a sword. He looks incredulous, like he can't believe you just uncuffed him and handed him a weapon.

You take his distraction at this to make the first move. You lunge forward with a slash, and he sloppily blocks it with his own sword, making a small noise of surprise, which quickly turns to a growl.

You really wish he wouldn't growl in front of Bro. He's already got enough scars.

Bro seems busy enough with his own troll, though. He's sparing with it nearby, and after the troll blocks incorrectly, Bro takes a step back and shakes his head, showing the correct way to block. The trolls tilts his head, and Bro demonstrates it again. This time, the troll copies his movement. He nods, slashing again, and the troll blocks correctly this time.

You turn back to your troll just as he turns back to you, having been watching them as well. You slash, and he blocks messily. You take a step back, showing him the right way, and he copies it, blocking it the right way the next time you slash. You give him a nod, and he gives you a smirk behind his muzzle.

You don't really care that he's smirking at you; its actually kind of cute, him thinking he's such hot shit after blocking one hit, while you've been training for nearly two years now. But Bro would probably think it's bad, and the fact that you don't worries you a bit, like you might train rebellious trolls.

You can't bring yourself to hit him for it, though. You quiet your fears of training him wrong by justifying that you just started, and maybe this really isn't a bad offense. You guess you'll get more of an instinct for what does and doesn't need to be punished for as time goes on.

As it is for now, you just smirk back at his over-confidence, pushing your shades back up.

You remember that when Bro showed you how to spar, he would physically correct your form; lift your arms more, or push your feet apart with his own. You suppose you can't do that with trolls because they're trolls, and aren't trustworthy enough for close contact while unbound.

You, Bro, and your respective trolls spar for most of the day, occasionally taking water breaks in the warm day. At about noon, you four move back into the barn, you and Bro eating sandwiches and him giving the trolls some sort of raw-looking meat. You re-shackle them to the walls and take their muzzles off for them to eat. You would hate to eat what they have, but they seem fine with it. Happy, actually.

When you go to put your troll's muzzle back on, he frowns and glares at you, but doesn't fight you as much on it. You move back to the training field after eating.

You notice, from the glances you sneak over at Bro, that he never smiles at his troll. You've given your troll grins throughout the day as he gets difficult moves, and your training feels fun, almost like a game. Bro is different; he never smiles at the green-blood, and every interaction he makes with him seems cold and strictly professional.

You worry that you're doing something wrong again, but still can't help smiling when the red-blood finally masters another difficult move.

As the day goes on, you start to hear grunts from where Bro is, and though you try to focus on your troll, both you and the red-blood keep sneaking glances over at what Bro's doing.

He's showing the troll a move the green-blood just can't seem to get, and after the first few feigns, Bro actually starts hitting him with the blunt sword. You can't say for sure, but you figure it's to give the troll motivation to get the move faster, by making not getting the move painful. The green-blood doesn't seem to be able to get it, though, looking tired, frustrated, and more and more angry as the minutes go on.

Your bro hits him in the side with the sword when he fails to block again, right where he kicked him this morning, and that seems to drive the troll over the edge. He drops the sword and launches himself though the air at bro - holy shit can trolls jump.

Bro, unfazed, jumps out of the way and knocks him away easily, and the troll hits the ground instead of Bro. Bro is on the ground next to him in an instant, trapping both arms behind his back and snapping the cuffs that he had on his belt around the troll's wrists.

And he pulls him to his feet, snapping his leash back on and dragging him to another section of the fenced-area. One with a big, vertical board that looks kind of like a wall.

He calls to you in a dangerous tone, "Come here Dave, and bring your troll. Let him see what happens to trolls that try to attack their masters around here."

Not wanting to follow, but afraid not to, you snap on your own trolls leash, having to tug a few times for him to follow. You give him an apologetic look that says you don't want to see this anymore than he does. You and the redblood stand a ways behind Bro, and you only see him shackle the troll to the structure and pull out a whip before you look away.

You can't block out the short, half-suppressed cries of pain from Bro's troll, though.

You look up at your troll, and he looks terrified and enraged at the same time. You're really glad you put his leash on so he can't do some stupid shit like launch himself at Bro as well.

It takes about two minutes in total for twenty lashes - you counted the hiss of the whip and the cries of pain - but it feels so much longer when you're looking at the ground, or the trees, or anything but what's fucking going on.

You look up after the final cry ends and no more come, and fuck is that a lot of green. Bro unshackles his troll and pulls him into the barn. You follow in stunned silence.

"I'll get your's something to eat. Mine's not getting anything, though, thanks to that little stunt he pulled." Bro says, roughly but expertly snapping his troll into the restraints of the stall, closing the stall door and locking it before disappearing into the tack room.

You lead your troll into his stall, shackling his wrists before taking off his leash and muzzle. He's looking anxiously past you into the hallway, watching for your brother, and you feel anxious as well. Bro was always the one who was patient and kind with you, who bandaged you up when you fell, who ruffled your hair after you beat him at a strife for the first time. The one who was good to animals; who wouldn't even kill a mouse that had gotten inside, instead scooping it up in a cup and taking you in the fields with him to let it loose in the fields.

This man who whips trolls is a stranger to you. He's cold and distant in the way he spars, and cruel for a provoked reaction from a grumpy, tired animal.

You hear a voice behind you and jump as Bro calls out, "Here," and tosses you a piece of meat for your troll. You hand it to him, your eyes meeting his for a moment, red on hidden red. Then you rise and follow Bro out, locking the stall door behind you.

You wish you had never wanted to train trolls. You wish you had never seen those slaves in the city as a child, never been interested in them. Then you would have never seen Bro like this. This Bro scares you; this Bro is different.

You hear soft crying coming from the green-bloods stall as you pass it, and you feel a flash of fury, hot and dark and gone as soon as you realize it's directed towards Bro, replaced by guilt, and then anger again.

You're so drained by your conflicting emotions by the time you get home that you almost don't hear him say "good work tonight, lil' man." Sounding like old Bro. Like it was you two strifing; like he didn't beat a troll for overreacting.

It makes you angry again, but you mumble out a careful "thanks" as you abscond to your room.

You lie in bed awake for a long time, too upset to sleep until you're too tired to be upset.

You finally fall into a fitful sleep, and you dream of facing a bright city street with too-big shades on a youthful face, swords forgotten besides you as you stare into red, angry eyes of a young, nubby-horned troll as he walks in a chained line.

Catz: Bro's still a douche potato.

Review m8? :::;)


	8. Chapter 8

You wake in the morning with a strong memory from eight years ago and a sense of disbelief.

Because yeah, you remember that little troll. His eyes hadn't been red back then, but you'd read once that their eyes took their blood color as they got older. So that would fit...but he couldn't really be the same troll, could he? The same one you saw all those years ago?

You guess it's not impossible, but it just seems so unlikely. That the same troll that made such an influence on you so long ago would end up being the troll you were training now.

You get ready to go out to the barn with a renewed energy, looking forward to examining this troll, see if he really fit the bill for the nubby-horned troll you'd seen so long ago.

You do not like it here.

You hadn't liked it anywhere, to be honest, but it was always better when you had Gamzee. Instead, you'd spent the night alone, listening to the greenblood crying for an hour in an otherwise silent barn. You knew there were other trolls in here; you never hear them call out, though. Maybe they don't speak the same languages. Maybe they didn't make any noise because they feared punishment.

Maybe they just don't care anymore.

It wasn't your...master (you call them master just for identification purposes, they can't ever truly own you, even if they think they do) that had beaten him - no, your master seemed quite decent, actually. He hadn't really hurt you; he had pushed you around a bit to get you in the wagon, and though you resented that, he seemed much kinder yesterday. He had smiled at you during swordfighting - your masters never smiled. It made you suspicious of him, actually, but he earned points for not having hit you.

The bigger one, on the other hand, was a different story.

You're not sure if the bigger one is your human's lusus - maybe - but he whipped the other troll for his disobedience. Which wasn't unusual among humans, but the act being common didn't make it any less cruel.

You're afraid he'll turn his whip on you next - you were never as afraid when you had Gamzee to patch you up and hold you afterwards, but without him you're barely holding together as it is. Trying not to imagine him lying in a stall; bruised, scared, alone...

No. Fuck this. You won't cry. Not here.

You slam your fists against the wall, making the chains rattle along with a loud, dull thud that probably made several other trolls in the quiet barn jump.

This new human was suspiciously nice, the other a run-of-the-mill asshole, and this barn was too quiet and you were too lonely and you couldn't take this shit anymore.

You had to get out. But it's not like you could break your shackles or anything.

Your mind flickers to the barbed-wire fences in the practice area.

You've never dealt with barbed wire before, but you're pretty sure you've had worse. The scars up and down your arms and all over your back are proof of that.

You start as your door slides open, and you see the smaller human, your trainer, standing in the doorway, with his strange dark eyecovers. Behind him, you see the fenced-in area; the fence isn't too tall, and beyond it is the forest.

Freedom.

The barbed wire at the top shouldn't be too bad.

So yeah. That could work.

Your human begins unchaining you as you stare over his shoulder at the treeline.

Catz: Karkat's gonna make a run for it.

And Dave's trippin.

Review~


	9. Chapter 9

You throw a wooden training sword to your troll, who catches it easily, taking a stance. Nearby, your Bro is facing up against the yellow-blood, who looks wary of him, in more ways than just as a sparing opponent.

You've been observing your troll, glancing him over for similarities. He has nubby horns, like the young troll did, though some trolls do have similar horns. You can't be sure - there's a good possibility, but if it is him, time's changed him so much you can't pin him for a spot-on match.

You care about it a weirdly large amount. It's probably because that one troll that may or may not be this on was one of the first trolls your ever saw, and one embedded in your mind, and that's certainly worth interest.

He's still roughly your size, like he was - if it was him - so long ago. A bit shorter, but only a few inches. Time has brought new interests to the surface as well. How his eyes are red - you've never met another being with red eyes.

You finish your once-over of him and start the session, raising your sword and rushing at him. He blocks and then attacks, forcing you back.

There's something different about how he fights today. He wasn't lazy or anything yesterday, but today he seems particularly energetic about it - not in a necessarily good way, either. There's something desperate about his movements, and it seems he's trying not only to block your attacks, but also push you away; keep a lot of space between the two of you.

Bro notices the hard swings and fast movements of your troll and keeps on alert, glancing over at the two of you often. You sort of wish he wouldn't; the way your troll is behaving is making you nervous, and it's embarrassing when Bro watches you jump back from a violent thrust or barely dodge a swing.

A little before you would break for lunch, your Bro swings at his troll, and the yellow-blood blocks, but he's holding the sword at a strange angle. The force of Bro's sword hitting his makes his wrist twist horribly. He cries out, dropping the sword and clutching his wrist to his chest.

Bro takes his wrist, not gently, but not harshly - more of a professional brand of carefully. He curses under his breath.

"Sprained his damn wrist. I'm gonna go get adhesive tape for this." He handcuff the yellow-blood to the chain-link by his good wrist before heading into the barn.

The moment your bro is out of the sword-area, your troll's attacks become more desperate; he'll come at you with a flurry, trying to drive you back before leaping farther away. You're nervous of how he's behaving without Bro here, but push back against him, and don't let him get too far away - that's what he wants to do, and though you can't understand why, you've got a feeling the outcome wouldn't benefit you if he did get his way.

You hear the heavy barn door close; your Bro's on his way back. Your troll gets a desperate, panicked look in his eyes, and without warning grabs the wooden blade of your sword and yanks it away, throwing it aside. He swings his sword at your head, and you're still too startled about your own sword and what's going on to realize you need to move, and the flat side of his sword connects with your head right about your ear.

You stagger backwards into the fence before sliding to the ground, and your vision is spotty, but you can still see your that your troll's climbing up the fence. You see him grab onto the barbed wire and try to pull himself over it, but your Bro is running up and climbing after him and grabs his leg, pulling him down back into the fenced-in area. He backhands your troll across the face, and you can tell he's yelling, though you can't hear anything; your ears are ringing.

He handcuffs your troll to the fence quickly before coming over to you. You try to get to your feet, head aching and the ringing in your ears slowly subsiding, vision going back to normal.

Bro helps you to your feet, but it's too fast and your vision goes again, along with a sharp pain where you got hit. You almost fall again, but he catches you. As your vision comes back, you can see he's speaking, but you can't make out any of the words yet, and you just stare at him stupidly, still feeling dazed.

He looks worried as he asks the second time, emotion showing behind his shades. This time, though, you can hear his words, though they're quiet.

"Dave, can you hear me?"

You shake out of your stupor a bit, replying, "I can now, a little."

"You gonna be alright? Are you bleeding?"

You raise your hand to your temple, and though it's tender and it's gonna bruise, you can't feel any blood. "I'm not bleeding; I'll be fine."

"Good." Your bro breathes, before turning back to your troll. "Fuckin' little bastard," you hear him growl, and he goes back and unsnaps the handcuffs from the fence, dragging your troll over to the whipping wall.

He calls you over, and fuck, you really don't want to see this, you're gonna have to close your eyes. You wonder why your troll pulled such a stupid stunt as you take a spot behind Bro. You're unpleasantly surprised when Bro turns and thrusts the whip into your hands.

"He hit you; you can do the honors of setting him straight."

It's no honor. His face is turned sideways, and one red eye is looking into both of yours, red on shades. He looks guilty, and his eyes close, body tensed, waiting for the whip.

You realize he didn't hurt you just to hurt you. He was trying to get away, and even though you can't let him leave, you still feel bad for him. Especially seeing him like this, chained up like a thief when all he wanted was freedom.

You stand there hesitating for so long Bro comes up behind you, a hand on your shoulder.

"It's ok." He says quietly. He takes the whip from you, and you want to protest, you want to tell him not to, but your face is flushed with shame from the disappointment in your brother's voice and you can't form the words. And unfortunately, you don't think asking him to not whip the troll who just hit you would result in anything except a lot of questions and a whipping for the troll regardless.

So you just close your eyes and flinch every time your troll cries out.

You follow Bro back to the barn in silence, head down, not wanting to see the red, but still seeing the drops that have fallen on the ground. He shackles your troll in and wraps his own troll's wrist, who winces at Bro's touch now, having seen the whipping. Then he calls it in as an early day, and both of you start back.

The two of you ride back to the house in silence.

Later that night, he confronts you in the halls.

"Hey lil man. How's your head?"

Hurting. "It's fine."

He sighs. "Dave, look. About the whipping today - I'm not ashamed of you. I get it - I couldn't do it at first either. They look so much like us, but they aren't like us - you'll see that more as time goes on. It gets easier."

You don't find that all that comforting.

"I'm glad you're feeling ok. I was really worried when you fell after he hit you." Bro says, and there's a softness in his voice that you don't usually hear.

Usually it would make you feel nice to see your bro let down his guard to show his care for you, but right now it just makes you feel really uncomfortable.

He puts a hand on your shoulder, and you barely avoid stiffening under his touch. He starts away down the hall, towards his room.

"Night, lil' man." He calls.

You go to your room too, but you can't sleep. You can't stop thinking about how you feel like you don't even know your brother anymore, how desperately your troll had been trying to escape; his hand curling around barbed wire and pulling himself up by it. How a scared red eye had met your own.

There's no way you can sleep.

You dress quietly, and silently slip down the hallway, out the door, and quietly wake your mare. She seems sleepy and confused but carries you all the same, and you ride bareback under the moon towards the slave barns.

Catz: Dave and his Bro don't quite see eye to eye on the whole troll thing.

What'cha think Dave's gonna do at the troll barn? Leave a guess as a review! ;)

Long chappie for my lovely skittles~


	10. Chapter 10

You jerk awake in the middle of the night to the sound of the locks on your stall door being pulled back. Your throat still hurts from holding back sobs, and you can feel dried tears on your face; though you hated crying, you had been in a lot of pain - still were. And it was so much worse without Gamzee there.

Your door slides open, and you see the smaller human, the one you'd hurt. You stare, wondering why he was here. Had he changed his mind about hurting you? Was he here to whip you? You curl in on yourself a bit at the thought.

He speaks words you don't understand as he approaches you, his tone apologetic. You think he was commenting on your physical state (though from his tone, he wasn't being mean about it) but you can't be sure - though you do know some of the human's language, your grasp on it was still limited. Some you understood, some you didn't.

You draw in further on yourself as he draws closer, and he kneels near you, speaking slower, clearer, and these words you can understand.

"Hey, it's ok. Won't hurt you." He says quietly, and you see he's carrying a glass bottle of something you don't recognize, as well as a rag.

He murmurs something you don't understand - the words run together in his quiet voice - but he beckons you forwards a bit, and you cautiously scoot forward. He hadn't hit you yet; maybe he wasn't going to.

He wets the rag and and dabs at your cuts with it. It stings like a bitch, and you hiss softly, but in pain, not anger. You're not mad because you don't think he's using this as a form of punishment, or something to harm you; he seems too...nice...for this to be anything malicious.

He murmurs, "Sorry, sorry. It'll stings, but it won't get -. Can't wash off the blood, though; Bro'll notice and -; not good." Some of his words you understand; others you don't. You figure the liquid is good, despite the sting, and he can't wash or bandage your wounds because his lusus will notice and wouldn't like it.

He scoots in front of you after he's done working on your back with the damp, stinging rag, and he takes your hands in his. He gently presses the rag to the cuts where you had grasped the barbed wire of the fence. It had hurt, but you'd had worse before, just like you thought. You still had some cuts on your palms and fingers; nothing too deep, though.

From all your old owners, you didn't think any of the humans actually had the ability to feel compassion. But here's this one, looking at your hands through his strange glasses, looking almost like he'd cut them himself; looking sorry.

"Sorry," he murmurs "-let him whip you. Should-made him stop." You don't understand all the mumbled words he speaks, but you gather he's apologizing for his lusus hitting you.

He finishes with the rag on you hand, and he pulls back, his fingers skimming the palm of your hand as he does so. You lightly press your other thumb to the cut on your palm, trying to get the last of the sting out, and murmur out a bit of the Domunian you understand in a rusty voice.

"...Thank you."

He starts, jumping a bit. It's obvious he didn't expect that.

"You can talk?!"

Though he kept his voice quiet, he wasn't murmuring that time; he had force and emphasis in his words, and you could understand him well. You half-smile, amused at his reaction.

"I can talk. I not dumb. I just not talk when big human here." You say, grasping for words in broken Domunian. You weren't stupid, but Domunian was a language you'd been self-taught through exposure. You understood some, but not all, of it.

He stared at you, clearly excited with this new information. "I didn't- you -talk." He's too excited and his words run together.

"I can. Thank for hands and back," you say, lifting your hands and then touching one to your back to demonstrate what you meant. "And...sorry. Sorry hit you." You mutter. You were sorry - he hadn't deserved that. It was only his asshole brother who had ever really hurt you. You'd been desperate to get away, had seen his brother go, and taken a shot to escape at his expense.

"No-fine." He says. He's speaking quietly again, and you don't quite understand him. He laughs softly. "-not so different after all."

You think he might be right. Maybe you and he are similar - he's not like most humans. Not many previous owners have helped you after you've accidentally hurt yourself, and none have tended to you after whipping you. And you're fairly sure none of your old owners would be pleased to know you could understand them; they'd rather have a stupid, animal-like troll. Makes them feel more secure; less chance of rebellion.

"What's your name?" He asks. You hesitate a moment, before deciding to be honest with him.

"...Karkat. You name?"

"I'm Dave." He extends his hand, and you know enough about human behavior to take his with your own.

After the hot sting of the rag and the cold hardness of the stone floor, the warm softness of his hand is welcome. He's mindful of your cuts; he grasps your hand gently.

Something about the way he's kind to you makes you want to cry.

He leaves soon after, with a quiet; "Night, Karkat", as he slides your door closed.

You find you miss him in the moonlit stall.

But you feel warm when you remember his hand in your own.

Catz: Finally got some dialouge between these two! It's like (spoiler!) act 5 or 6 or whenever the god tier kids can finally talk instead of type everything.

I've been describing this story to my friends as "a tale of forbidden homoerotic passion". It's supposed to be funny or something. I don't know; I just thought you guys should know, since this story is for you.

Also, thank you guys for the reviews last time! Three in a row is a lot more than I've gotten in a while; each one of them made me smile. Love you guys~

As always, Skittles, review!


	11. Chapter 11

You lead Karkat back to the barn after another day of training, sweaty and tired, the cooling afternoon air a relief on your damp skin. You don't turn your back on Karkat, though you don't think he would attack you. Not after last night.

You still can't believe he can speak Domunus. You'd always thought troll's were animalistic; that speaking was beyond their mental capacities. You'd read that they chirped and clicked to one another, but you'd always thought it was just like birds singing or wolves howling; animalistic communication. Now you're starting to think it might be their own form of intelligent communication; just a foreign language. You'd ask Karkat about it, except Bro is here, and you don't think he'd react positively to knowing Karkat can talk. He views the trolls as animals, and he's happy with seeing them that way.

This whole 'trolls being smart' idea is messing with your head. Because you'd also always thought trolls were on the same mental level as horses or dogs or whatever. And now that you've learned they aren't - well, it changes things.

You don't mean that trolls being smart suddenly makes it wrong to shove them around - it is wrong, but it would still be wrong if they were just as smart as dogs. You don't understand why Bro's cruel to trolls but good to his animals - it might be because the animals work with him, and the slaves against him. Or maybe because the animals are just his animals, while the trolls are from the lands Domunus conquers and fights; like they're his enemies, or rivals.

Either way, it's not right. When you said trolls being smart changes things, you aren't talking about the intelligence changing your views on abuse of trolls. No, you're talking about how it affects your relationship status with your troll - Karkat.

Before, you saw him as a owner sees a pet; kinda like a dog. A smart dog, but still just like an animal. You respected him, but as a being of lesser intelligence. Now that you know he thinks more like you than you'd ever imagined, you're seeing him more as an equal. Someone that can understand things to the same extent you do.

You walk into the barn with Karkat, the soft ground of the field giving way to the hard-packed dirt of the barn floor. Bro starts chaining his troll in, but it feels wrong to do that to Karkat. You stand for a minute, thinking. An idea pops up.

"Hey Bro, didn't you say there were some jumps for horses around here?"

"Yeah; some in one of the empty end stalls. Why?"

"I sort of wanted to take Tasha over some; you taught me to jump her when I was younger, remember? I was thinking about it the other day and I missed it," you lie. You'd liked jumping with your horse Tasha, but that wasn't why you were staying behind.

"Sure thing, lil' man. You need a crash course, or you got it?"

"I got it."

"Ok. Just put the jumps back when you're done, and don't forget to lock up your troll for the night", Bro replies, sliding his troll's stall closed and heading out.

"No problem. See you, Bro."

"See ya, kid." Bro calls back, swinging a leg over his own horse and trotting off.

As soon as he's out of sight, you turn to Karkat.

"You wanna go for a walk?"

Catz: I forgot I uploaded Chapter 10.

I've been reading Homestuck all day and just got to the famous "drawing scene" of act 6. I figured that was a Dave and Karkat interaction milestone worthy of putting to text~

Hope you enjoyed, my beautiful skittles, and leave a review!

Catz outski *ollies out*


	12. Chapter 12

You and Karkat sit side by side by the edge of the woods, a little ways away from the barn. You got him some of the food Bro keeps for trolls - dried meat and bread - and for you, an apple and bread you brought in advance, since you'd been planning on staying. Both of you have water.

You've been talking for a while; Karkat in broken Domunian about his life, and you about yours. It seems harder for him to talk; you guess it brings back some pretty sucky memories. He talks less about events in his life and more about the places he's seen; places with mountains, huge cities, lakesides. You've been in one place for most of your life, so his stories fascinate you.

Whenever he moves his head, his collar clinks a bit. He absentmindedly tugs at it, uncomfortable. You feel bad about not taking it off, but honestly, he still scares you a bit. You worry if you take it off, he might attack you, and you know he's stronger than you. He still has his choke-collar and leash on, and though you're not holding the leash right now, if he lunged at you, you'd be able to grab it. Then you could pull on it and cut off his air; give yourself an advantage in the fight. Also, you worry he might run off if you took off his collar, and you don't want him gone; not only are you curious about him, but your Bro would be so disappointed in you.

He looks up at the trees, not smiling but not scowling. Looking thoughtful.

He's kind of cute; you realize. You flush and try to shake that off, as almost an automatic reaction; there's still a part of you that thinks of trolls as animals, and it seems close to bestiality to think one's cute. Trolls being human-like is an idea you still need time to open up too. You've started; you've been talking with him for a long time, spent the whole time since he spoke realizing he's more like you than you thought, but old habits die hard. You're sure this one will, though; a mind, once stretched to new ideas, never returns to it's original dimensions.

Over your initial rejection of the idea, you look at him again. Even if you aren't completely comfortable with the idea yet, you can still see he's cute through your tinted glasses. You know you like boys already, though your first kiss was with a girl - Bro took you to a family friend's for a week when you were thirteen, and you and their twelve-year-old daughter got huge crushes on each other. Still, you've kissed boys before too. Namely Tero; the son of one of your servants. However, you two had ultimately decided a romantic relationship would interfere with your friendship, and had decided to end it. You were still good friends, thankfully.

Karkat notices you staring, and you turn away quickly, embarrassed. He raises an eyebrow slightly, but doesn't say anything.

The silence feels awkward now, so you bring up another topic, and you start talking again.

You talk for a long time, until the sun is nearly setting. Then you shackle him into his stall - you're reluctant about it, but he holds his wrists out willingly. He doesn't like it either, but he understands that you have to.

You ride back thinking of your time together and feeling high, the wind blowing through your hair and against your shades.

Catz: They're so adorabloodthristy.

This might be the last update for a week or so; I'll be out of town for a while. Hope you enjoy it!

Review, Skittles~!


	13. Chapter 13

You've been staying behind nearly every day for a week now, and you and Karkat will walk together and talk for hours. Your sparing with him feels a lot friendlier; more like your spars with Bro. Bro seems to notice that you're more relaxed around Karkat, and warns you one night to not make a pet out him. He says it lightly; in almost a joking manner, but you've noticed the way he watches when you grin at Karkat when you two spar.

You try to be more professional and detached after that when Bro's around, mentioning it to Karkat beforehand so he doesn't feel like you've suddenly become a huge dick.

Bro still keeps a careful eye on you, and though he only points out when you need to fix your form, you feel like he's watching your expression closer than your form.

...

Karkat and you are starting to have more in-depth discussions; talking about your futures, the far past, the right now. Although he wouldn't have been able to have such deep conversations a week ago, his Domunian has gotten remarkably better as you've been talking to him more, correcting little slips in his wording and explaining words he didn't know.

Even though you guys have deep talking time, you also have light conversations, where you're just messing around, and he smiles and laughs with you a lot now.

You like seeing him smile. It's better than the sad, angry boy he seemed when you first bought him.

Sometimes you almost say something to him in front of Bro, though you always catch yourself. Karkat never seems to slip up; he's always on full guard around Bro.

...

You and Karkat stand a ways away from the barn with practice swords. You've stayed behind again, and practice is over, but there was one form Karkat couldn't get today, and you can see it's bugging him. You offered to teach it to him, but he's still not getting it; he just isn't moving the right way. You can see he's getting frustrated, and you're getting a little sick of it too.

Giving up on just showing him, you set your sword down and go over to him.

"Take the stance again, and I'll move your arms so they're where they need to be." You say.

You move behind him as he takes the stance, and you take his elbows, moving them so they're how they need to be. "As you go through the move, you need to turn your arm like this", you say, moving forward with him, pressing up against his back a bit as you do so.

He's very warm.

You step away and he takes his stance again, correctly now. He does the move right all the way through, and beneath the pride and happiness that he finally got the move down, you feel a little disappointed you can't touch him to guide his stance again.

...

"Dave, this fucking terrifying."

"Dude, calm down, you're fine."

"I going to fall off. I going to fall off and it going to step on me and I will die."

"You won't fall off. And she would never step on you; Tesha's the gentlest horse ever."

"I don't want ride anymore."

"Yes you do; don't let being nervous scare you off of her. You won't fall off."

Karkat had been wanting to ride a horse, and you two were currently riding on Tesha. You were sitting behind him, giving him space; you didn't want to intrude on his personal bubble. He was currently freaking out, after Tesha had broken into a trot and the bouncing scared him.

"...I guess I do. But when it start bouncing, I feel like I going to fall."

"You won't fall off, ok? Want to try again?"

"...Ok."

Tesha goes from a walk into a trot again, and Karkat swears quietly, tensing up. You hesitate for a moment, before scooting forward a bit and encircling him with one arm, pulling him against you, the reins in your other hand. He tenses up for a moment.

"Dave, the fuck?" He asks, sounding confused, but not angry or uncomfortable.

"Just holding you so you don't fall off. You want me to let go?"

Tesha leaps lightly over a small stream, and Karkat grabs onto your arm.

"No."

"Ok dude. You want to try a canter? That's less bouncy."

"If it bounces less, yes."

Karkat lets out a short yelp at the increase in speed as you nudge Tesha into a canter, but he laughs after a moment, and you can see he's grinning.

You keep your arm around him, pressed up against him, until the ride is over.

...

You ask Karkat one day, sitting together after practice, what the horns are for.

"Are they for fighting or something? Like bulls or bucks?" You ask.

"No, not for fighting. They for feeling; like...face hairs on cat." He demonstrates with his fingers up to sides of his face; he usually mimes when he doesn't know the word for something.

"Those are called whiskers." You chuckle.

"Alright, like cat whiskers. They for feeling in dark places. I awake during day since I get used to human sleep pattern, but trolls in troll villages usually awake at night. So it make sense we need them; to help us get around in the dark night."

"Wow," You murmur, and, without even thinking about it, reach up and grab one of his small, rounded horns.

He jerks like he's been stabbed, tensing up violently and letting out a muffled noise from the back of his throat. You quickly pull your hand away.

"Shit, you ok?! Did that hurt or something?"

"No, it didn't hurt. I fine." He says , face still tensed.

"Sorry man, I should've asked." You say. He lets out a shaky exhale, and you notice that his face is flushed.

You realized if horns were supposed to be for feeling, they would be sensitive to touch. But they seem to be sensitive in...a way you wouldn't have expected.

You start talking about something else, and he latches on, glad to move away from the topic of horns; you figure he's probably embarrassed about reacting like that. You still feel really bad, but thankfully, he doesn't seem mad at you.

You keep your hands away from his horns after that.

...

He asks about your shades one day.

You tell him the same shit lie you tell everyone, from Tero to your tutor; that your eyes are sensitive to light, and the shades protect them from the light, so it doesn't hurt them. Karkat still looks curious.

"We in the shade; less light. Can I try them?" He reaches for them, and you push his hand gently away; trying to seem playful about it.

"No man; gotta keep these on. I can't be going blind like an old lady at fifteen."

Karkat scoffs playfully. "I bet your eyes aren't even sensitive; they probably a weird color." He smiles, and you know it was meant playfully, but you still feel your stomach drop at his words, and have to work to keep your expression light.

"Yeah dude, my eyes are actually crazy and multicolored. Shit's nuts." You reply. Karkat grins.

"No eye color could be weirder than mine." He says, leaning in so you can see the red irises of his eyes. "Most other trolls don't like me for my red blood; I a mutant, and they can see it through my eyes. Troll's eyes the color of our blood." He's not smiling anymore; he started off joking, but now he's more serious. "I know all humans have red blood, but no humans ever have red eyes. And no trolls have red blood but me, so I the only one with red eyes. Makes me feel like a freak sometimes; feel alone." He turns to you. "What color your eyes?"

You so nearly take off your glasses then. Show him your red irises; pour out to him how you've felt like a freak before for your eyes, but how seeing his eyes made you feel less alone.

But you've never shown your eyes to anyone before, except Bro. Though Bro's eyes were unusual too, he

told you about how your dad had orange eyes, like him, so he wasn't alone in his eye color. You'd always thought you were.

But you can't do it. So you just say,"Mine are green. But, hey, I really like your eyes. They might be different, but they're really cool. One of a kind."

Karkat smiles at you for that, red eyes staring into yours.

Your fingers brush against your shades, nearly pulling them off once more, before you decide against it, lowering your hand.

...

You talk to Karkat one day about his freedom.

You don't want him to go, but you see the way he looks at the mountains in the distance, the way he tugs at his collar. You can tell he wants his freedom, and he's your friend. You want him to be happy. Bro wouldn't like it, but you could say you forgot to shackle Karkat in for the night. Maybe bust the lock to make it seem like he got away on his own.

"I mean, you tried to escape once before. I'm your friend, man, and friends look out for each other. If you want to go, I'll tell Bro we should look in the opposite direction of wherever you go. I'll let you go if you want to."

"...Thank you for the option, Dave, but I don't think I should leave. When I tried before, one of my friends just been separated from me. We had been together forever, I missed him a lot. Being lonely, plus scared of your brother, made me want to escape much. I was not thinking, though; my village was burned down, I can't go back there. And if anyone catch me alone, they know I am escaped slave. They just sell me back into the market. I wish I not a slave, but you can't change it, and your brother won't. Besides, even being a slave not so bad here after we start talking. I don't think I'll ever have a better owner than you; you're more than an owner, you're my friend." He smiles at you, soft and genuine.

You feel your stomach flip-flop with butterflies at his smile, and you smile back, looking down behind your shades as you feel your cheeks heat up slightly. "Alright. I'm glad you're staying, honestly; you're my friend. I would miss you if you left; but I do wish you didn't have to be a slave."

"It ok when I here, because you don't treat me like a slave." Karkat replies.

"You treat me like a friend."

Catz: Cute babies being cute.

Long chappie for my skittles~

Leave a review, my lovely readers!


	14. Chapter 14

It's past noon but still hot as hell out when Bro calls for you to stop.

You stop your sparring with Karkat, gripping the practice sword, and look up to Bro. "Yeah?"

"You're doin' good, little man, but he's slow today. He needs a little motivation." Bro hands you the hilt of a sword; not a practice one, but a real one. "Use this."

Personally, you don't think Karkat's slow today at all. It took you just as long to get some of these harder moves when you were learning; Karkat's moving at a pretty normal pace. You take the sword anyways, though. It makes you more irritated than anything; not only are you mad at Bro for wanting you to swing something so dangerous at Karkat, but you're definitely NOT going to hit Karkat with this, and the restraint you'll have to show with something like this is much greater than with the less-dangerous wooden practice swords. You'll have to be careful not to even hit his arm, because instead of a light bruise, he'd get a gash. It'll stifle your movements and make training more difficult.

You manage for a little while, but Bro watches you over the next few hours between sparing with his own troll. Though you try to make it seem like you're not holding back, Bro seems to be able to tell. When the afternoon temperatures finally stop increasing and even off, starting to drop little by little, Karkat is too slow to learn one of the blocks. You're forced to stop the sword short of hitting his shoulder time and time again (a very tiring and obvious move), and finally, Bro snaps the cuffs on his troll and comes over to where you are.

"You're holding back. If you're soft on him, he won't get it any faster." Bro says, taking the sword from your hands and turning to face Karakt. "Stand back."

Bro swings into the move you and Karkat had just been practicing, and Karkat tries to block, but he doesn't move right. Bro's sword knocks Karkat's right out of his hands and cuts his shoulder. Karkat hisses in pain, twisting away, and your fists tighten angrily. Karkat scrambles for his sword as Bro raises his own sword again, and swings. Karkat tries the block again, and again Bro knocks right through the defense, hitting Karkat's shoulder again, a new gash in the now-red fabric.

When Bro was teaching YOU this move, he was never impatient. He would have never hurt you to try to get you to learn a move faster. It's not helping Karkat learn; all it's doing is hurting him, making him even more frustrated that he can't get the move, and messing up his shoulder.

Bro raises the sword again, and you call out.

"Bro!"

He turns to you.

You've got your face completely expressionless, and speak with a voice that you hope sounds as strong and deadly as you mean it to. "Stop."

Bro raises an eyebrow at you. You continue.

"I can do it. He's my troll, after all."

"Are you actually going to do it or are you going to keep babying him?" Bro asks.

You don't give him an answer, instead simply walking up to him and grasping the hilt of the sword with your own hand, right below where Bro's still holding it. You try to pull it away, and for a moment he doesn't release it. You raise your face to stare, expressionless, into his shades with your own.

After a few long seconds of staring, he lets go.

You two stare for a few moments longer, and you break it first, turning back to Karkat. You can feel Bro's eyes on your back for a few more moments before you hear his shoes scuff in the dirt as he turns back to his own troll.

You four don't stay out much longer; only about a half hour, and during that time you don't hit Karkat with the sword once.

Bro watches.

When you finally head into the barn, after chaining Karkat in, Bro pulls you aside in the grassy area just outside the barn.

"Dave, I'm telling you this for your own good. DON'T make a pet of him. It'll only make it harder when you sell him." His voice has an edge to it; it doesn't sound like advice, it sounds accusatory. "Trust me on this. I know."

You want to narrow your eyes, but instead fight to keep your face expressionless. You're angry because Karkat's not some animal. You can't make a pet out of another being so like yourself; you can only make a friend out of him.

You want to tell him about how Karkat is more like you than he knows. How he's like a person; how he can speak, think, reason. You want to change his mind; make your friendship with Karkat acceptable to him.

But you're afraid that if Bro knew you and Karkat were friends, he would sell Karkat on the spot. Something about the way he interacts with trolls seems deeper than just emotional detachment; seems like he's not just distancing himself so it doesn't hurt to sell them. It seems like he really, really hates trolls. And from the way he watches you around Karkat, it seems to really bother him that you don't have that same hate towards Karkat.

Maybe he gets it. Get that trolls are smart, but for some reason - maybe because they're from the lands Domunus is fighting and conquering, and therefore enemies of the country; maybe because they're traditionally of a lower class; maybe just because they're different - for whatever reason, he hates them, belittles them, says they're stupid and animalistic; even while knowing it's not true.

Or maybe he really doesn't get it. Maybe he honestly thinks trolls are stupid, thinks they're violent and animalistic, truly believes all the things he's always told you about trolls. All the things that you've seen proven false time and time again in your time with Karkat.

Whether he really believes those things are true, or is just trying to make them feel true, you don't think telling him they aren't would change his opinion.

So you just look up into his shades and respond.

"Ok."

Catz: It was pretty tough to figure out some of the finer details of Bro's prejudice, such as what causes it, but I think I did a pretty good job.

Also a bit hard to write about how that prejudice being present in Bro and absent in Dave affects the relationship between the two. But still, I think I did pretty well.

Leave a review, Skittles! Hope you enjoyed~


	15. Chapter 15

You try to stay behind again, but Bro insists you come home today. You think he suspects you wouldn't be jumping Tesha today.

You two ride back in silence. You won't look over at him. Your eyes are narrowed behind your shades, but through your anger at him, you can feel something prick at you that feels sad. Feels like you're losing him.

You abscond to your room as soon as you get home, but you're not planning on staying. As soon as it's dark out, you slip into the washroom, grab a rag, water, antiseptic, and a roll of bandages, and sneak out into the stables, mounting Tesha and riding off through the darkness to the slave barn.

You dismount, walking in and gently sliding the door open to Karkat's stall. He jerks awake, startled to see you. You step in, unshackling his wrists for him.

"Sorry, Bro made me go back to the house. I snuck out, though, as soon as I could. Here, let's get you cleaned up," You murmur, helping him get his red-shouldered shirt off - it's tough for him, because he can't move his left arm too well right now, what with his shoulder being fucked up and all. You set your backpack on the floor, rummaging through the contents in the darkness. You take the rag, wetting it with water, gently dabbing at the blood caking his shoulders, wiping it away. You press it against one of the cuts, and he winces, hissing softly.

"Sorry," You murmur gently, leaning in closer to see the cut better. The barn is dim in the dark evening, and with your shades still on, it's even harder to see what you're doing. You lean in closer and closer until you can feel the heat from his bare shoulder on your cheek. You feel even more heat as your face flushes lightly when a lock of his hair brushes your cheek and you realize just how close you are to him.

When his grey skin is finally clear of red, you wet the rag with antiseptic and dab at the cuts with it, and hear him hiss, feel him tense beneath your hand. You murmur out another apology, finishing with the rag and picking up the bandages.

Your hand brushes against his skin - half on accident and half on purpose - as your wrap the white cloth around his shoulder. His skin feels like yours, if a little tougher; whether due to a lifetime of slavery or due to him being a troll you aren't sure. Either way, it's not an unpleasant texture.

You two sit in comfortable silence as you wrap his shoulder, but Karkat gets a look of realization on his face, which turns to apprehension.

"Dave, won't your brother notice bandages? Won't he be mad you help me?" Karkat asks.

Oh yeah. Shit. "...I'll make up some lie. These are deeper than before; they'll take longer to scab over, and you don't want them getting infected." You reply. You're not sure what you'll say to Bro yet; but you've got time to think something up. Karkat relaxes, less apprehensive now. The tension leaves his muscles; you can feel them relax beneath your hands as you finish wrapping his shoulder.

"Thank you, Dave. You a good person. You not like your brother." As soon as he says it, he tenses up. "Fuck, no, I mean-"

"Hey, no, it's fine." You say. "He's a real asshole to trolls, I know. I don't know why, but I know he is. And you're right; I'm not like him. I don't think it's alright to beat anyone."

Karkat's relaxed now that he realizes his comment didn't insult you. "He probably hates us because he think we different. He hates us because we not like him, and he think the way he is, the way he live, is the right way. Since we are different and live different, we not 'right' in his view." Karkat stares into your red eyes with red eyes of his own. "But trolls and humans actually do have lot in common. I always thought trolls and humans were very unlike one another, but we really aren't that different, you and I."

You stare at him for a moment, before reaching up and pulling your glasses off. Karkat inhales, sharply and quietly, at seeing your red eyes for the first time. You're silent for a moment, before mirroring his words.

"We really aren't that different." You say quietly. "You and I."

Karkat stares, frozen in place. You feel really uncomfortable, the eyes you've always hidden now uncovered. If it was anyone else, you probably would've looked away and pulled your glasses back on.

But Karkat's eyes are the same as yours. He gets it.

Karkat leans in closer to see your eyes better in the darkness, until you can feel the heat from his face on your own. You feel your cheeks flush a bit, and suddenly want to pull back for a whole different reason than your eyes.

But you also want to get closer. Until you can feel the heat of his skin right on your own.

You're terrified of what might happen. But still, you lean in a little, slowly, feeling really nervous and a little hopeful at the same time. Karkat notices, eyes flitting to your body as it moves closer, but he doesn't pull away. Instead, he looks back into your eyes, and he leans in too, slowly, hesitantly. But when neither of you pull away, you both tilt your heads a bit as red eyes slide shut, and close the small distance left between you two.

His lips are just a little tougher than your own, like the skin of his shoulder, but they don't feel rough or hurt against your own. You scoot closer to him, resting your hands on his sides. He wraps his arms up around your neck, and you slide your arms around his back, mindful of his still-healing cuts from your brothers whip, and pull him gently into your lap.

After a few minutes, he pulls away for air, staring back at you, face flushed, breathing open-mouthed to try to stay quiet. You are too; some trolls might have woken up from you coming in, and be listening to see what you two could possibly be doing. It's why you kept your voices low, and why you're still trying to be quiet now. You don't want the other trolls to know. At best, it's embarrassing. At worst, one might rat you out to Bro to get out of punishment or something. Not to say they would for sure, but better to be safe than sorry.

Karkat half-pants, looking into your eyes, and you can see in his eyes the same question that you have in your head: 'What the fuck are we doing?' This is really weird; after all, he's a troll, and you're a human. You're technically different species.

But you're more than that. You're friends.

And this feels right.

You lean in once more, and he does too, kissing you again. You open your mouth a little, and he opens his in response, tongues slipping into each other's mouths. You tighten your arms, pressing up against him even more, before laying back onto the floor, pulling him down on top of you.

He's solid, but his weight feels good as he presses against you. He moves his hands to your hair, tangling his fingers through your blond-white strands, as you run your hands over his lower back, below where the scabs from your brother's whip are. You find his spine, rubbing circles on the same vertabre over and over, not wanting to move your hands, not wanting to think; just wanting to kiss.

You two kiss in the quiet night for a long time. Eventually, Karkat shifts on top of you, and you feel lightning jolt through your body as he presses his leg up between your legs; you're not sure if it's on accident or purpose. Either way, you pull away and squirm out of his embrace, half-sitting up, Karkat still straddling your lap.

It's not that you don't want to continue; you really, REALLY do. But as great as that sounds, you also don't want to let the rush take your head and end up doing something you'll regret in the morning; you don't want to go too fast and mess this up.

Karkat stares at you, confused, and you say quietly, "We shouldn't go too far tonight; we've just started this, after all." Karkat nods down at you, swinging one of his legs straddling you back over to the other side, climbing off you.

"So, what this make us?" Karkat asks softly. You look over at him, feeling unsure of the answer.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I like you, as a friend, and as more than that. And you're really cute," You whisper back, blushing, "I really like you. And I want to see where this goes. So," You extend a hand, palm-up, "You...want to be boyfriends?"

Karkat looks at your hand, then to your still-uncovered eyes, before sliding his palm into your own, smiling.

"Yeah."

You hold his hand in your own for a moment, smiling back. You're scared as hell, scared of what'll happen if this goes wrong; but also excited. Because you've got a boyfriend. And you really, really like him.

You pull Karkat into your lap again, so he's facing you, and nuzzle your forehead against him. You kiss him again, soft and chaste. You want to start up sloppy makeouts again, but you don't want to get swept up in the rush and go too far tonight; and besides, you both need to sleep.

You really want to spend the night. But Bro would find out, and would not be happy. You'll have to go back to the house sometime tonight.

But you can stay here a little longer with this little miracle in your arms.

"I'll stay here until you fall asleep, but then I have to leave," You whisper. "But we can be together again tomorrow afternoon, after practice."

"Alright." Karkat mumbles back sleepily.

You lay down on your side, still holding him, and he curls up against your chest. You pull the ragged blanket over both of you, petting Karkat's hair gently. He shifts a bit, and you hold him in your arms, the smart part of your brain knowing you really should get up, but the bad-decisions part of your brain - the part in control, now that you're tired and falling asleep - argues that you can stay a little longer.

Then you're blinking awake in the sunlight streaming into the barn, and Karkat's jerking awake and scrambling upright, out of your arms, as you hear the voice call out again that woke you up in the first place.

"Dave? Are you in here?" Bro calls.

You sit up fast, and you and Karkat exchange wide, red-eyed glances.

Oh _shit_.

Catz: I'm sure all of you have been waiting for this chapter ;)

This is one of my favorite chapters (and cliffhangers) so far.

Cute babies being cute and now in trouble. Oh noes! :(

What do you think will happen, my lovely readers? Let me know in the reviews~

'Till later, Skittles!


	16. Chapter 16

"Dave?" Bro calls out again. "You out here?"

"Yeah." Your voice is still thick with sleep and nerves, and you clear your throat before calling out again. "I... I just came out early today." You glance around wildly, your gaze settling on Karkat's white-bandaged shoulder. You speak up again, your voice sounding more awake now, and more confident. "Since my troll's shoulder got fucked up. I decided I'd come out early and bandage it, so it doesn't get infected or some shit."

You can hear Bro's footsteps getting closer, and you grab Karkat's wrist shackles, quickly snapping them on. He hisses quietly but urgently, "Dave, glasses!" You wildly glance around the floor, seeing your shades and snatching them up.

You slide them back on just as Bro pulls the door open.

"Sup." You say as casually as you can, trying to keep up a calm front as you pick up the medical supplies you brought out, walking out of the stall and setting them in the tack room. Bro follows you, clearly knowing something's up, but without any evidence yet.

"Your hair's pretty messy." He comments.

Shit. "Really? I guess I forgot to brush it this morning." You say, trying to sound nonchalant about this whole thing. Trying to sound like you didn't just make out with Karkat in the barn last night.

You head out ino the main barn again, and Bro follows you silently.

The whole practice feels really tense. Like Bro's watching you the whole time. And he pretty much is. His troll - the brown-blood - watches you with curious eyes as well, and you're not sure if it's just because Bro's so intent on you that he has nothing to do, and he's interested in what's got Bro so interested; or if he heard something last night.

You try not to look at them too much and instead focus on making it look like you and Karkat are nothing more than master and slave. Try to make it look detached and professional. Keep your face blank.

You consider going back to the house after practice ends. Just to cool Bro down, convince him there's nothing suspicious going on. But honestly, you really want to hang out with Karkat. And things feel really tense between you and Bro right now; you'd rather not be in the same area as him right now.

Instead, you and Karkat go for a walk, ending up sitting together in a little clearing in the woods. Talking. And kissing.

It's darkening outside when you finally go into the barn with Karkat and walk into his stall with him.

"I wish I could stay tonight, Kar, but I gotta go back to the house. Bro'll be even more suspicious if I stay out here two nights in a row," You whisper to him in the quiet of the barn.

"It ok, Dave. I understand. Goodnight." He whispers back.

You kiss him gently and quietly; no loud smack in the quiet barn, just a touching of skin. You smile as you slip our of his stall. You don't bother locking it; he could open it anyways, since you haven't chained him in. It's more comfortable for him that way. And you aren't going to trap him, if he want to leave, he can. You don't think he will; after all, you two are friends/boyfriends.

You ride back to the house, grinning as you replay the afternoon in your head.

When you go out to the barn the next morning, Karkat is gone.

Catz: :(

Where, oh where, has Dave's boyfriend gone? Where, oh where, could he beeeeeeee?

For real, though, where could he be? Let me know what you think in the reviews, Skittles!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, lovely readers~


	17. Chapter 17

You stare at the empty stall, mixed feelings. He left. Part of you is glad; he wanted his freedom, after all. But why didn't he tell you? You were friends; or was it all just a ruse to get you to leave him unchained? You start to feel the beginning of hurt and betrayal before you remember you'd offered him his freedom before; he'd have no reason to be sneaky about it. So why would he leave in the dead of night, without even saying goodbye?

You stand in front of his stall, thoughts zipping through your mind, struggling to keep your face blank as Bro rides up. You'd been so eager to see Karkat and maybe sneak in a good-morning kiss that you'd rode ahead.

"Hey." Bro calls out. You numbly turn around, just in time to see him toss you something. You catch it, hearing it clink a bit. You realize it's a bag; it's heavy, too. You look inside, and it's filled with gold coins. About fifty of them.

You're really confused as you look back to your brother. He bites slightly on his lower lip before speaking.

"I know you're probably really unhappy with me right now, but trust me, it's for the best. And you even made a really good profit."

You stare, still confused. "...What?"

"You were making a pet of him, Dave. I came out last night; you didn't even have him chained in, and you left the stall unlocked. He could have ran away; you can't trust them like that. You're lucky he didn't notice, or you wouldn't have those coins. It's better this way; the longer he stayed, the more it would have hurt. It's hard not to make pets out of them sometimes, and I understand why you did; since he was your first." You stare, slowly starting to understand.

"Let's go to the auction, and you can get another one. It'll be easier; you won't get as attached the second time. I've been through it too; I know." Bro goes on.

"...You sold my troll?" You ask, voice still quiet. Not quite believing.

"I did it for you." He says.

The anger comes all at once. Like a floodgate had been opened. You want to scream at him, hit him, hurt him like this hurts you. Hurt him for taking Karkat from you.

But you don't. You just back up a few steps, before turning and runinng to Tesha. You swing a leg up on her and spur her into a gallop. You look behind you once to see Bro watching you. He's not chasing you; he probably figures you're going to go pout in your room. Probably figure's he should let you ride it out.

You're not riding out any hissy fit in your room.

You dismount Tesha without even tying her up; she won't go anywhere, anyways. You take the stairs two at a time up to your room, lifting your shades a bit to wipe away angry tears.

You throw a change of clothes into a pack, along with the bag of gold and a blanket, and a full canteen.

Then you go back out to Tesha. You mount her, but wait just a second before riding off.

You wonder exactly what in the flying fuck you think you're doing. This is STUPID; you can't leave home. You might have enough skills to make it, but are you really willing to leave all this behind? Your home? Your Bro? Maybe you could talk to him about it; get Karkat back.

You dismiss that thought almost immediately. Bro wouldn't listen. He just wouldn't. He hated trolls; something they didn't deserve.

And you won't let your friend suffer because Bro is too closed-minded to see that trolls are just like you.

You kick Tesha into a gallop, and head towards the city.

Head towards Karkat.

Catz: Shit just hit the whirling device.

Ride on, Dave. Get your troll bf back!

Review, Skittles~


	18. Chapter 18

I sat in the corner of my stall at the auction grounds, staring out at the blue sky behind the barred window and gingerly reaching up to touch my black eye again. I bit my lip; bad idea - I'd forgotten that'd gotten split as well. I winced, dropping my hand.

I shifted against the wall, trying to find a way to sit that didn't put any pressure on my bad shoulder. Dave's lusu - brother - had slammed me pretty badly against the floor, on my bad shoulder, when I was trying to resist getting in the slave wagon.

I squirmed into a position I was comfortable with, wondering once again if Dave knew where I was, or if his brother had kept him away from the barn, or if he had made it seem like I ran away.

I wondered if I would ever see Dave again.

I rested my head against the wall, trying not to cry.

A few hours later I awoke suddenly at the sound of a voice. I looked up, and saw a silhouette blocking light from the late afternoon sun as they stood in front of the barred window. I hissed, crouching. If some guard was gonna try to come in here or take me out, I was gonna try to get past them.

"Kar, it's me!" I heard the silhouette whisper again.

My fury dissipated as I recognized the voice, and I ran to the stall door, wrapping my fingers over the bars to lay on top of Dave's.

"Dave..." I whispered, my voice breaking at the end.

"It's okay Kar. I'm here, I'm here," he whispered to me as I struggled not to cry.

Dave's finger's suddenly disappeared from under mine, and I opened my eyes, vision blurry with tears. "Dave, where you going?!"

"Nowhere baby, nowhere. I'm just gonna bust the lock open and get you out of here," Dave said. He picked up a good-sized rock he had at his feet, and I stood on my toes to see out the window. Even looking straight-down as I could, I could just see the top of his head as he knelt to break the lock. I noted he had his horse a few yards away.

Dave had the lock pushed against the door so it wouldn't swing and clang. Even with that, it thudded loudly every time he hit it. I gripped the bars on the window, hoping desperately a guard wouldn't come.

Dave struck the lock once more, and I heard a cracking noise and a "Yes!" from Dave, and the door swung open.

I ran out and threw my arms around Dave's neck, burying my face in his shoulder. He hugged me back, lifting me up and swinging me around. I laughed, feeling tears in my eyes from the joy and relief of being back with him. He set me down on my feet, hugging me fiercely.

"I missed you, Kar. I was scared I wouldn't be able to find you. Scared I would never see you again."

I spoke, voice cracking. "I was too."

"Aw, ain't that sweet." A voice rasped that was NOT Dave's.

Both my head and Dave's jerked up, looking around for guards. I saw no one around, and looked to Dave with confusion.

"The stall across from ya."

Dave and I both turned, seeing a dark shape in said stall. Cautiously, Dave headed over, and I followed close behind. As we got a little closer, I could make out blue eyes in the shadow of the stall.

"...Who are you?" Dave asked the troll.

"Someone who can help." He answered, his voice rough. "Usually I don't talk to humans, but seein' how you're talkin to screamy shouty over there," I flushed a little, embarrassed; he must have heard me screaming when they first dragged me in here, "and how you busted him out and hugged him like that, I figure you're...different. You got a backpack, a horse, and you're breaking a troll out. I figure he's your pet or lover or somethin', and you're plannin to run away with him. Correct?"

"Something like that." Dave answered, his voice sounding wary.

"Alright. Well, I'm figuring you got some big master plan? You gonna go run away, live in the wild? You sure don't want to be parading a stolen slave around the city, after all." Dave didn't nod or answer, and I realized I didn't know what to do from here, and Dave might not either. The blue-blood goes on.

"Look kid. Don't do it. The wild is hard. Here's a secret; there are others like you. You just gotta look for 'em."

"...What do you mean, exactly, by "like me"?" Dave asked after a cautious moment, picking his words carefully.

"Good to trolls. Treat them as equals rather than slaves. They can help you. I know; I've been with 'em before. You ever want to find 'em, just go East and look for the House of Cards. You'll find 'em alright."

"Wait," I said. "The House of Cards? Like in the song?"

The troll chuckled. "The very same one."

I'd heard of the house of cards before, in a song some other trolls who spoke English had sang in one of the places I had been briefly. I didn't remember the whole song; just that one line went, "This road is rough, a life that's hard. Find freedom in the House of Cards." I had asked what it meant, and they hadn't known; they'd heard it in the slaveyard, from another stall a ways away.

Now it made sense that you'd find freedom there, if it was some sort of safehouse.

"You've heard of it, too?" Dave asked. I explained to him about the song. He seemed to be a little less wary of the blue-blood now, but hadn't seemed to trust him before. I hadn't really, either, before he mentioned the House of Cards, which I had heard from another source. After all,why would he help two complete strangers?

"Why you helping us? You want out too?" I asked.

"I don't want out. I'm a fighter troll; a gladiator. And I love it. I get to kill humans in the ring; kill the filth that killed my matesprit." He glances at Dave. "No offense to you."

Dave shrugs uneasily.

"And I'm helpin' you because you remind me of myself and the human I once loved. We never got this far; but you two have. You two don't deserve to be caught, and if a little help prevents that, I may as well give you it." A pause. " Me and her might have made it with a little help. So I might as well help give you two the chance me and her never got."

All three of you are quiet for a few seconds, before Dave speaks up.

"...Thank you." He says quietly. "You said East to the House of Cards?"

"Damn straight."

You and Dave thank him and offer to free him one last time. He denies the freedom offer.

"The odds are against you two. Beat them. Make it." He says as you two swing up onto Tesha.

You wave goodbye to him hesitantly as you and Dave ride away from the sun as it slides down over the horizon.

Ride into the East.

Catz: Together again :)

I feel like the blue blood would have a raspy voice. He reminds me a bit of sober Gamzee, but isn't Gamzee.

If any of you guys ever want to message me, go for it. I promise you won't be bugging me; I love to talk to my readers :) Same if you want me to reply to a review; tell me so in it, and I will.

Leave a review for this chappie, Skittles~!


	19. Chapter 19

You squint against the rising sun, feeling the pressure of Karkat leaning against your back; he fell asleep about an hour ago. You've got his wrists against your stomach with one hand, so that his arms are around you, keeping him more balanced on Tesha. You've got the reigns in the other hand, keeping Tesha at a walk. You can feel one of Karkat's horns rubbing against your shoulder with the motion of Tesha's steps.

You've been riding East all night, and you haven't seen any houses since you passed the farmlands just outside of the city, which is miles behind you now. You've been wondering what to look for; a real house couldn't be made of cards, after all.

You think about it for a while longer, feeling more and more tired and, as a side effect, irritable. You're starting to think that, despite how Karkat had heard of the house before, it was just a rumor after all.

That is, until you crest a ridge and see a house beneath the morning sun.

Your exhaustion lifts considerably, and you ride onward, looking for any card-like sign on the house. You get closer, and a blanket on the clothesline catches your attention.

It's got spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds stitched all over it.

If you weren't worried about the boy sleeping against your back falling off, you'd spur Tesha up a notch.

When you get to the house, you reach behind you and nudge Karkat awake. You feel the pressure lift from your back as he sits up on his own, and hear a sleepy-sounding, "What going on?"

"I'm going to go up to this house - I think it's the House of Cards. See the blankets; they have card symbols." You respond as you swing off Tesha. You start up towards the door, hoping it's what you're looking for.

Your knuckles hit against the wooden door. You wait a minute, and then a man with copper skin and dark brown hair opens the door.

"Hello." He says cautiously.

"Hi...is, uh, is this the House of Cards?"

He looks past you, to Karkat, who's slid off Tesha and is looking apprehensively towards the doorway.

"Some might call it that. Why don't you tether your horse out back, and you and your friend there can come inside?"

You tether Tesha, and you and Karkat walk in together. The man leads you into the kitchen, where a woman with the same coppery skin and dark hair is leaning against a counter, along with a female troll with brown eyes and horns that curve back and upwards, then downwards and forward, in a sort of half-circle. Both of them watch you cautiously, but when they see Karkat behind you, both seem to relax a bit, and the human woman offers you a smile.

You and Karkat sit at the table with the man. The human woman sets down two clay mugs of water for you and Karkat. You thank her, before looking back to the man as he starts to speak.

"My name is Tamak. Over there is Jin," he gestures to the human woman, "and Yuneme," he gestures to the troll woman. "What are your names?"

"I'm Dave."

"My name Karkat."

"What brings you to the House of Cards?" he asks.

"We were told we could find...help here." You respond.

The man glances at the woman before turning back to you. "Help for what?"

"...For us. We became friends, and ran away together when Karkat," you gesture to the troll in question "was going to be sold."

The woman against the counter - Jin - lets out a light, friendly giggle. "They sound just like us, Tamak."

Tamak smiles. "So they do." He turns back to you. "We can help you, if you need it. So you ran away; I'm assuming you can't go back home?"

"Not if we want to stay together. And we're not splitting up." You respond, bringing the water up to your lips, and promptly spilling it all down the front of your shirt with your exhaustion-heavy arms. You flush with embarrassment - you don't want these people thinking you're stupid - but you hear Yuneme let out a thoughtful noise instead of yelling at your for getting water everywhere.

"When was the last time you slept?" She asks. Her voice surprises you - unlike Karkat, she has no accent.

"Two nights ago, I think..." You respond.

Her eyebrows raise. "You rode all night?" You nod. She gives you a sympathetic look, and turns to Tamak. "Let's let our visitors rest in the spare room. Discussions can wait until they've slept."

Tamak looks to you, and nods to Yuneme. "Go ahead and show them the way."

Yuneme starts down the hallway, gesturing for you to follow. You and Karkat both rise - you make a conscious effort not to stagger or sway on your feet, though it's hard, seeing how you're in the middle of a wave of exhaustion.

She shows you into a room, a patch of light on the bed from the sunlight streaming in the window. You thank her, and she smiles and heads out. You crawl onto the bed, leaving your shoes off on the dirt floor, and drop your head down. Even though it's not comfortable - it's got a straw mattress, and pieces are sticking through the mattress and blanket and poking you (you and Bro always had cotton mattresses) - you're tired enough to close your eyes and just start slipping under.

You feel the mattress shift as Karkat crawls over to you, laying next to you and nuzzling up against your chest. You drape an arm over him and kiss the top of his head, smiling as you fall asleep.

Catz: I almost made them need to go two days to get to the House of Cards but a horse walks about four miles an hour. Multiply that by eight hours for a night and you got them goin like twenty eight miles. That's hella far. That takes like almost a half hour in a car going at sixty mph.

I got inspiration from how they find the House of Cards from the Underground Railroad. Karkat hears about the House of Cards from a song, and the song Follow the Drinking Gourd was filled with hidden instructions on how to escape to the North, and passed among slaves. Also, people would hang quilts with secret messages on them for runaway slaves; kind of like with the House of Cards and the card sheets.

History knowledge for real life application up in here. Usin' US History for fanfiction.

Hope you enjoyed, Skittles! Review~


	20. Chapter 20

The patch of sunlight that had been on the bed has slid halfway up the wall by the time you finally wake up. You're still tired, and consider going back to sleep until you notice that Karkat's not here with you.

You're suddenly very awake. You get up, slipping on your shoes and pushing the door open, stepping out into the dirt hallway, heading back to the kitchen. Once in the hallway, you can hear Karkat's rough voice, followed by a response by one of the women.

You breathe out in relief at the sound of his voice. You don't want to seem clingy, but you figure considering how you almost lost him (if he had been sold the day Bro left him at the auction, you would likely have never seen him again), you figure a little separation anxiety is normal.

You turn the corner into the kitchen, and see Karkat sitting at the table, talking to Jin. They both look up to see you.

"Morning, sleepy! Or afternoon, I guess." Jin says. She's got a nice voice and is happy without being annoyingly cheerful. You like her at once.

"I was just talking with Karkat here about troll language. Yuneme's always talking about how many dialects there are, and I'm pretty interested in it." She said. "Now that you're up, you and Karkat should probably go see Tamak - he's out in the barn. He said he wanted to plan with you two."

When you and Karkat push the gates to the barn open, you find Tamak stacking about five hay bales on a wagon. He turns at the creak of the door, and motions you two over.

"Karkat, Dave. Glad to see you; you two can help me with this. Help me pull this out to the fiel where we keep our cattle; we need to leave hay out there for them, since it hasn't rained in a while and the grass is growing slowly. Okay?"

"Alright." You two say in unison.

You three take the wooden handle of the wagon and start pulling, and as the cart starts to move, Tamak starts talking. "So you two ran away from home together?"

"Yeah, pretty much." You respond.

"Well, I can help you by finding you some place to work; I know a few places that aren't prejudiced against trolls like the rest of the world seems to be. How much you two know about farmwork?"

"I know lot about farmwork. I work on farms ever since I a child." Karkat says from next to you.

"Good! I know a few farm that'd love to have a worker who knows what he's doing, and who aren't gonna judge you because you've got horns and grey skin." Tamak says. "How about you, Dave?"

"I don't know that much. I know how to plant seeds and stuff." You reply. Tamak raises an eyebrow. You hurry on. "But I know how to do other things; like figuring and reading."

Tamak raises both eyebrows, but not in amusement this time; more in real surprise. "You're educated?"

"Yeah." You reply.

"Wow. Pretty much no one out here is. You could make good money in the city with those kinds of skills. Where are you two from, anyways? Domunus city?" Tamak asks.

"We weren't in the city, but we were near it." You say, tugging hard on the handle to get the cart over a stubborn bump in the field. Tamak nods.

"Well, there's a smaller city near here. It's about an hour ride, as opposed to eight or nine hours to the main city. And it's still part of Domunus. You could get a job out there...the only problem is Karkat. It'd be tough for you two if Dave was in the city and Karkat on a farm, since you ran away to be together.

"I could work on a farm," you say. "I know some stuff about farmwork, and I'm sure I could learn." Tamak shakes his head.

"The people on the farm aren't prejudiced about trolls, but they aren't looking to teach anyone either. You don't know what you're doing, they won't take you." He looks thoughtful. "I do know someone in the city that's appreticing for metalwork. He's not prejudiced; Karkat might be able to be apprenticed by him."

You blink. "They're alright with trolls being educated in this city?" In Domunus City, it was against the law to teach trolls how to read, write, or figure, or to teach them any type of fine craft. They were really just allowed to be treated as animals.

Tamak bites his lip, as you three stop the cart besides the feeding manger, and start cutting the twine on the hay bales and stuffing the golden straws between the metal bars of the manger. A few cows looks your way with interest; more in the hay than the three of you.

"Well...no. But I know a way we could get around that. I know someone who could help you look human; just so you would be able to be in the city without being heckled, attacked, or arrested for being an apprenticed troll." He says, as he rips the last bale apart and stuffs it into the manger. You take the handle of the much-lighter cart and start pulling it back, as it bounces over the bumpy field, unweighted by bales.

"Once we get back to the house, I can explain more."

Catz: I'm having a hard time remembering all these O.C.'s names. And they're mine.

Chapter twenty whoot whoot! Put yo hands in the air like you just don't care!

What's Tamak's super secret sneaky plan for Karkat that I won't be revealing the details about until next chapter? Leave a theory in the reviews, Skittles~

Until next chapter, Catz out. Love you, my readers! *virtual kisses*


	21. Chapter 21

You stand in the shade of the outside garden with Karkat, Jin, Yuneme, Tamak, and Amrena; Tamak's wife. She had golden eyes and straight, short horns that both point downwards towards her ears at the tips, with black, wavy hair that reaches her lower back. You'd met her while walking inside with Karkat and Tamak to find Jin and Yuneme. She's just been waking up; she had an excuse to be sleeping in the middle of the day, though.

"What you name it if it a boy?" Karkat asks, tentatively touching Amrena's swollen stomach as he sits in the grass next to her. She smiled and started listing off names.

"Congratulations on the baby." You say to Tamak. "I'd never thought trolls and humans were similar enough to have children together, but a lot of misconception's I've had about trolls have been cleared up lately." Tamak smiles.

"I wasn't sure Amrena and I would be able to have children, but after a few months, her stomach started getting bigger," Tamak said. "We're more similar genetically than most think; more than seems possibile, with all the physical differences between us. It's fascinating, really."

You think of how foreign some of Karkat's anatomy is to you; his horns; multicolored and smooth, his yellow and red eyes; they're more beautiful than they sound, like morning sun coming through bright stained glass, and his smokey skin; tougher than your own, how it felt under your hands as they slipped under his shirt...

You blush and hastily nod in agreement; yep, sure is fascinating, all science going up in here, definitely not blushing over that time I made out with my troll boyfriend, what, who said that, I didn't say that.

Your mental rambling is interrupted as Jin comes out of the house with two plates, followed by Yumema.

"Ok. We've got apple slice and peanut butter bread, and we're ready to go!" Jin calls out. She and Yuneme sit in the grass near Karkat and Amrena, and you and Tamak follow. They pass out plates and mugs, and everyone starts taking food from the serving plate.

"You eat outside?" You ask. Yuneme smiles at you.

"Certainly. The house is far to hot this time of day in the summer. Takes the appitete right out of you."

You take some apple slice and two pieces of peanut butter bread. It's not anything like what you and Bro used to eat; you two used to have grapes, corn, and always some sort of meat. This water tastes different than the water you had with Bro, too; more earthen. They probably have a shallow well; Bro had enough money to get one that was really deep, where the cleaner water is. When you were younger, you had milk as well, and in the past few years, wine mixed with honey.

You guess you never realized how much different your standard of living had been from others. You snap out of it as Jin sits and addresses you.

"So, Dave and Karkat; would you mind sharing the story of your great escape with us?"

You and Karkat spend a good hour recounting to the group everything that had happened thus far, leaving out the part about you two making out in Karkat's stall. You just say you'd stayed and talked until you fell asleep. The group finishes the meal, but you all just set the plates aside for now - Jin says the washing can wait until storytime is over.

"So you heard about us from another troll?" Tamak asks.

"And a song." Karkat says.

"We must be more popular than I thought." Tamak says. "Not that it's just us - there are about ten card house's now." He grins. "If it was just us, we'd be overrun."

"Wait; there are other card houses?" You ask.

"In various locations. We actually are copiers; we heard about hanging up card symbols to show you've got a safehouse for trolls. Amrena and Yuneme say it's connected to troll romance."

"The quadrant system." Amrena supplies. "Basically, It's a type of romantic system that has spots for pity, friendship, hate, and making sure those who hate each other don't kill each other. I sort of abandoned it; I never hated anyone enough to fill the hate quadrant, and me and Tamak don't really pity each other. It's love beyond the quadrants."

Tamak blushes, and Karkat speaks up. "Dave and me tell you us story, Tamak. Can we hear you story now?"

"Go for it, Tamak!"

"Yes, do tell the boys."

Tamak breathes in, looking thoughtful. "Well, me and my sister Jin were servant's children on a farm plantation. We did things like housework; but they had slaves as well. Trolls who worked in the fields."

"As children, Jin and I would always play in the yard with the other children, including the slave children. Yuneme and Amrena have been our best friends since I can remember, and we would always play together. They're related too."

"We're cousins." Yuneme says, looking over to Amrena.

"As me and Jin got older, we started to realize that Yuneme and Amrena were more to us than just friends. I fell for Amrena, and Jin for Yuneme. We came out to our parents together, and they didn't accept it. They were angry at us for having a relationship with trolls, and with Jin especially, for being a lesbian. They said they were going to tell the plantation owners if we didn't end the relationships. So all four of us ran away together that night."

"We wouldn't leave each other because our parents didn't approve of who we loved," Jin says. "We live out here with each other, where the cities who don't approve homosexuality or trolls in general, let alone troll-human relations, don't bother us."

You lean over to Karkat, whose sitting next to you. You'd be hesitant to tell them you'd been dating Kar, and had seen the hesitation in his eyes while telling the story as well. You'd known they were alright with trolls, but you hadn't been sure if they were alright with homosexuality.

"They're lesbians; should we tell them we're dating?" You whisper to Kar.

"...Do you want to?" He asks.

"It'd make things easier, and less awkward, since we wouldn't have to avoid it." You whisper.

"I fine with it." Kar whispers.

You look back to the group (Jin's giving you a disapproving stare, and you flush; you know whispering right in front of them is rude) and you take Karkat's hand, squeezing it.

"Actually, we should probably tell you something too."

...

"I knew it!" Amrena exclaims. "I thought you two were more than friends, but didn't want to say anything. Oh, you two are such a cute couple!" She laughs and puts a hand on her stomach. "The baby thinks so too; he kicked to let me know."

"Speaking of them being together." Tamak says. "I was talking about finding jobs for Karkat and Dave, and Dave told me he knows how to read and figure." All three woman look over at you, surprised.

"I can write too." You supply.

Tamak grins. "He's got an education. I told him he could get a job out in Terunca; the city a few hours away. But since he and Karkat ran away from Domunus city to be together, I was thinking I might be able to get Karkat apprenticed in the metal shop, so they could stay together in the city. But if Karkat wanted to be in the city, he'd have to go to Snake first...I was hoping Yuneme and Amrena could talk to him about Snake."

Yumema and Amrena glance over at each other, seeming apprehensive.

"Snake is...a tattoo artsist." Yuneme says. "A tattoo is a sort of ink that you put on your skin to make a design or picture, or, in this case, change the color of your skin." Karkat starts to shake his head, but Yuneme continues.

"Karkat, at first it sounds really bad, but if you and Dave are going to be together, you need to adapt. I wish the people in the city weren't like they are, but the truth is, they don't like trolls. If you want to live in the city, you have to adapt. He can use dye that isn't permanent; see, you can barely see mine anymore." She holds out her wrist, and both you and Karkat lean in to see a very light bronze patch on her grey arm. "Both me and Amrena tried to get them, but we were allergic to the dye. Snake did a test patch, and out wrists swelled up to the size of apples. I couldn't use my hand for a week."

"How far ago did you get tattoo on wrist?" Karkat asks.

"About two years ago. The dye takes time to fade, but it will. He had dye that's permanent, too, but I didn't want to get that. I got the temporary dye because it feels like I'm less changed with it, since my skin will go back. I'd like to say I got permanent dye because skin color doesn't matter, but I didn't. Skin color doesn't matter to me on other people; that is, I don't form opinions based off other's skin color. But when it's my own skin color, it matters a lot more. Because I like my skin color. I don't want that part of me to be lost forever. The temporary dye needs to be re-applied every six months or so; but if you're working in the city, you'd be able to afford it. The worst part would be that it's uncomfortable to have done. Not too painful, but not fun, either." Karkat grips your arm. You look to him.

"If you don't want to have it done, you don't have to, Kar. I can work in the city, you on a farm, and I promise I'll come out and visit you every chance I get."

Karkat breathes out. "No way. I don't want to be far away from you; have a relationship that slow get weaker because we not ever see each other. I want to be with you. It just sound kind of scary. But, if it do not last forever..." he looks to Yuneme. "It couldn't be too bad."

"It's not. I promise." She says, smiling at him. "Okay! Dave, Karkat, can you help me with the dishes?"

Catz: Guess who's back

Back again

Catz is back

Please review ;)

On a side note, apparently Homestuck is about 99 percent done now. I don't know if I should scramble to catch up or draw it out and enjoy it ;-;. I'm sad it's ending, but honored to have been part of it. Kudos to you, Hussie-Sempai.


	22. Chapter 22

You wake up in the night to find the sheets next to you empty and cold, the moonlight bright against the sheets rather than softened against your boyfriend's skin.

You're a bit alarmed; you're still anxious about being separated. You were a bit anxious and uneasy; jealous, even, today, when Karkat kept talking to the troll women. You feel bad about it; he hasn't met other trolls who speak his dialect in a while, and is definitely interested in talking to free trolls; who he's likely never met before. But you're used to be the only one his attention is directed towards; you're spoilt from being his only lifeline.

You shake off the feelings of guilt over your jealousy and start thinking about where he could be, instead. Since it's obviously not here, you rise up out of the bed and pad down the hallway quietly.

You decide to check outside; maybe he just went to use the bathroom. You'd wait for him, but you really do want to see he's alright. Besides, you're not tired anymore. Maybe he's not either and you two'll be able to have a little alone time. Not that you don't appreciate everything Tamak and his family have done for you; you do. You just want boyfriend time.

You're quiet as you open the door; you don't want to wake anyone up. Thankfully, it doesn't creak or anything as you push it open. You steal through the ankle-length grass, wet with dew, making the grass blades stick to your bare feet before you pull away from their clinging.

You walk for a little while, before you see him sitting on the downwards slope of a little hill, out of view of the house.

"Hey", you say when you're about ten feet away. You don't want to be so far away you have to yell, but also don't want to be so close you scare the shit out of him. He still seems a little startled when he turns around, though.

"Couldn't sleep?" You ask, walking up to him, sitting next to him and sliding your glasses up onto the top of your head. You'd put them on out of habit and hadn't really thought about it until you saw Karkat's red eyes. He'd seen your eyes before, and it was a hassle to wear them at night anyways.

"Not really." Karkat says. "That, and, well." He breaths in, then out. "It feel so weird to be free. I dream about it for so long, and now I have it, and I don't feel different. I glad I free, but I always thought it be so different. Like, that I have to run or hide in forest. But, turns out I can hide in city. I just have to hide my skin. It just...it not bad, but it different than I always imagine." He looks down from the stars, over at you. "It hard to believe I not a slave anymore. It not bad. It just, well, so new. So different."

"I think you'll probably get used to in time." You say. "If you need someone to talk with, though, I'm here."

Karkat pretend-glares at you. "We not morails, dummy."

"A morail is like a friend, right? In a quad-thing?"

"A quadrant. And a morail a platonic romance partner." Karkat said. "You talk with them about your feelings and cuddle, but it's platonic. You don't kiss or have sex."

"Well, we cuddle and we kiss," You say, skipping around the having sex part because you're not sure you want to go to that topic yet. "So what quadrant does that make us?"

"We matesprits. And matesprits can cuddle too."

"But they can't talk about their feelings about their new-found freedom?"

"They usually not do that too deeply."

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it with me, since I'm not your platonic cuddle-buddy, you don't have to. But if you do, we can."

"But that would be quadrant changing."

"I mean, I don't know a whole lot about quadrants and troll love. But you know what I do know?"

You lean in, close to his ear.

"I do human love you."

You pull back and Karkat's blushing. "I not know a lot about human love, either. Maybe we'll be able to learn from one another."

You grin, eyes narrowing in a playful way. "You know what the best way to learn is?"

"How?"

"Through experience." You respond, ducking in and kissing him once on the cheek. You keep it chaste and quick, in case he's not feeling it. He's got a lot going on, after all.

You let him make the next move, whether it be ending it at a kiss on the cheek or going further. You're ready to accept either; if he doesn't want to, cool. If he wants too, awesome -

Annnnd he's cupping your face, careful with his claws, and kissing you on the mouth. You smile under his lips and kiss back, and he kisses harder.

You pull him into your lap, lips on his, arms slipping around his back, hugging him to you. He twines his arms around you too, fingers pushing and dragging the fabric of the back of your shirt.

As awesome as this is after not being able to kiss like this for a while, the angle for your necks is really awkward. You lean forward, tiling Karkat backwards, laying on top of him. You're careful to not put all your weight on him, instead supporting yourself with your arms and knees. You've got your lower body stradling Karkat's, your crotch resting on his waist. That's an okay place for it right now, though you'd like to be about three inches lower down on his body, with a lot more friction.

Not too fast, you remind yourself. Too fast takes all the fun out of it. Instead, you lower your face and kiss him again.

It's wet and really sloppy, and it only takes a few minutes before you're both breathing hard. You pull away from the kiss, instead ducking your head to nip lightly at the junction where his neck meets his shoulder; not hard enough to break the skin or even leave a mark. He still gasps and jolts, his hands, on your back under your shirt, grabbing at nothing, and his claws pull lightly and quickly down your back; nothing painful, but it's kind of hot.

He cups your head and turnz your face to his, kissing you again, free hand lightly skimming over your sides, and you move your own hands to his head, fingers carding through his tousled midnight hair. Your hand brushes up against one of his horns, and he makes a breathy noise as his hips jerk upwards, and yeah, wow, that was REALLY hot.

"Is that alright? Me touching your horns?" You ask, hand hesitating next to one of the smooth orangish horns.

"More than alright. Do that again." Karkat murmurs against your skin, and you can feel the sharp points of his fangs against your collarbone as he speaks. You brush your thumb over the base of one of the horns, and you feel Karkat's breath, hot and wet, against your skin as his mouth opens in a breathless gasp. His hips jerk upwards again, and this time, you roll your hips back against his, edging down a little lower, feeling electricity crackling through your veins, and-

"Dave? Karkat? Are you two out here?"

Gog fucking damnit.

"Yeah, yeah, we are," You call back, rolling off Karkat as he squirms away from under you. You finger-comb through your tangled hair and yank your shades down against the morning sun; you hadn't ever realized it was getting light out. Tamak sounded fairly far away, which is good; it gives you more time to get in sorts.

"Where are you guys?"

"Down here." You call. A moment later, Tamak appears at the top of the ridge.

"What are you guys doing out here?" He asks.

"We couldn't sleep, so we came out here to talk. We didn't want to be too loud and wake anyone up." You respond. You feel different lying to him than you did Bro; the consequences would be different if he found out. If Bro had found out, you and Karkat would have been royally fucked. If Tamak found out, it would be embarrassing at worst. He wouldn't judge you; his wife was a troll, after all, and he seemed cool with homosexuality. Bro wouldn't just judge, he'd split you two up.

"Alright. Why don't you two head up to the house in about five minutes. Finish whatever you were conversing about." Tamak says, heading back up the hill.

A few seconds after he's gone, you and Karkat look at each other. You feel a little sexually frustrated; the adrenaline from Tamak showing up had washed most of the lightening out of you, but you still are turned-on, and there's no way you two can continue now.

Whatever sexaul frustration you have sort of dies when Karkat starts giggling. You stare for a second, before you start snickering too, and then you just start laughing really hard. It just seems so silly, so simple, to be nervous about Tamak finding out. He wouldn't even judge you; Bro, on the other hand, would have split you two up.

It feels so normal to fib to Tamak, just to keep from being embarrassed. You finally feel like you and Karkat are just a normal couple. Nothing bad or weird about you.

To Tamak and his family, you suppose you and Karkat are normal. And there doesn't have to be anything bad to you. It's never been bad or weird to you; really, the threat of Bro was the only reason you felt like you were doing something wrong.

You two finally trickle down from laughter to giggles to nothing, and you stand. You offer your hand to Karkat, helping him up, the pull of his body against your goes up your arm, through your back, all the way down to your feet. You kiss him once on the lips, feeling his lips smiling beneath your own, and you two head up to the house.

Catz: This is the smuttiest chapter I've ever written. That was pretty embarrassing to write, but I hope you liked it :::;)

It's been a while, but I'm pulling straight A's in school. School comes first, fanfics second. School's important, Skittles~

By the way, I posted Chapet 22, pulled it down, and re-posted it. I put the wrong file up the first time. Sorry -_-

Leave a review!


	23. Chapter 23

You slide to the ground, feeling the thump through your whole body as your feet hit the hard-packed dirt. You tether Tesha to the fence-post, and she stamps her feet uneasily. You pat her soothingly before pulling the gate open to the barn.

"Thanks!" Tamak calls out to you. He's riding on his horse, herding the few cows and sheep they have into the barn through the now-open gate. You glance uneasily to the green-tinted sky; you've only seen this a few times before in your life, and you and Bro had a proper cellar to take shelter in. You feel scared for the animals; the floor is lower then ground level, maybe three or four feet, with the path to outside graudally leading up an incline, but you don't know how much it'll help if the tornado touches down and rips the barn up.

You can feel the charge in the air warning of the storm as Tamak herds the last few sheep in, the lambs chasing after their mothers, and you untether Tesha and lead her in after Tamak, feeling an uneasy knot in your stomach. Tamak walks his own horse in, and Karkat and Jin come in the opposite door, both with a basketful of chickens.

"I used to carry them around in baskets all the time when they were chicks, so whenever they see the basket now, they jump right in. Aren't they clever?" Jin's saying to Karkat. They head over to a small encloser and set the baskets on the ground, closing the gate as the chickens hop out of the basket.

Jin turns to Tamak. "Are these all of them?" She asks, gesturing to the cows.

"All eight of 'em, plus the calf from the longhorn. Can you help me close the doors up?"

Karkat touches your shoulder gently. "You seen a tornado before?"

"Yeah." You respond. "I'm just...I'm really nervous for Tesha." With Bro, you had a barn for normal times, and then a deep encloser, about six feet below ground, that him and the servants would put most of the animals in for bad weather. Since cows can't go down stairs, it had a really long ramp-like incline. This barn has one too, only not as long and a bit steeper. It's not as deep, either, which makes you nervous.

"She'll be okay." Tamak calls. "We've had tornados before. One took off the side of the barn once; the animals are safe lower down. She's not gonna be hurt."

You nod, leading Tesha over to an empty stall, shutting her in. You feel sick with anxiety and worry, but kiss her once on the nose and start to follow Karkat and Jin into the house.

"Dave, hold up a minute. I need you to help me get the sheep in the pen. Karkat, Jin, can you help Amrena into the cellar? It's probably really hard for her to climb down the stairs, with the baby as big as it is."

You walk back over as Tamak chases the last of the sheep into their pen. "Sorry; it didn't look like you needed help. I didn't mean to be inconsiderate."

"Don't worry about it; I didn't need any help, actually. I wanted to talk to you alone."

Your heart skips a beat; is something wrong? Is he going to say you and Karkat need to leave soon? Or is this barn not actually as safe as he said it was in front of Jin? "Y-yeah?"

"I've been re-playing our conversation in my head; your story about leaving your brother's farm." You nod. "You never went back to talk to him, did you?"

"N-no; I don't think he'd listen if I did."

"...I went back to my parents. Both me and Jin. It went over...badly. But with you," Tamak says, "your brother might realize this isn't some fleeting obsession. I'm not saying it was the wrong thing to run away; you had to, just like me and Jin had to, to keep the one you cared about safe. And you should leave Karkat here if you go back; at least until you work something out with your brother. But...you really should go back. It might seem scary, but you could make things work. It's a small chance, but a chance that's still there."

...Go back?

God, that sounds scary. You ran away, and hell, you miss Bro a lot. But you're really scared of how he'd react if you came back. You feel like you've abandonded your family, and he probably feels that way too. Like you cared more about Karkat than him or something. Which is untrue; you had to save Karkat's life. But you still love Bro. Scared and uncomfortable as he's made you these past few weeks, you do still love him.

And if you did go back and talk to him? Maybe it'd work. Maybe.

"...I don't know." You say. You're scared shitless of the idea of going back, because it could go really badly. But also, the idea makes you hopeful. Because it could also go really well.

"Think about it, okay, kiddo?" Tamak says. You nod, and he latches the sheep-pen closed. "Okay then. We need to get inside now; listen to the wind." You realize the sound around you is howling.

Tesha nickers once as you pass her, sounding anxious as you feel. The cattle give off low mooing sounds, and you help Tamak slide the heavy double-doors closed before running to the house under a green sky that's pouring rain, your shoes splashing through the now-muddy and soft earth.

You two climb down in the cellar with the women and Karkat. Karkat huddles up next to you, even though you're soaked, and Jin hands you and Tamak towels. You wrap up in yours, and Karkat takes your hand as the wind outside rages, sounding unearthly and threatening as it twirls, pushes and pulls at the world above you.

Catz; Storms.

Is Dave gonna go see Bro again? Only time shall tell. And who better to tell then the knight of time himself?

Hope you enjoyed! Review, my skittles~!


	24. Chapter 24

You feel sick with worry and apprehension, and the air around you feels as charged as it did last night before the storm.

Riding ten hours with nothing to do besides imagine everything that could possibly go wrong can give you some pretty bad butterflies in your stomach.

It only gets worse when you see the distant figure of a servant drop their basket of whatever they were carrying and run towards the house when they catch sight of you. Great. No backing out now.

Not that you were planning to, but now you feel trapped. And it's unpleasant.

By the time you ride up to the house, the servant - Shimsa, a middle-aged woman who used to take care of Tesha when she was a foal - is emerging from the house with Bro, who stops in his tracks when he sees you.

You slide off Tesha, and suddenly Bro isn't ten feet away, he's right there hugging you.

Your apprehension is replaced by surprise, which fades into a familiar, comforting sense of family.

"I missed you, Dave." He whispers, and it's the most honest, emotional tone you've ever heard your usually chill brother use. You realize he's shaking.

"I missed you too." You whisper back, and it surprises you when your voice breaks.

Bro hasn't pushed you away like you imagined he might. He's hugging you. He MISSED you.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

Your fingers play along the marble tabletop, running along the smooth, cool, speckled stone. Bro sits across from you, and it feels awkward. Neither of you are really sure what to say.

Bro looks like hell - you can see the dark circles under his eyes even with his shades on, and you feel really damn guilty. You've been out spending time with Tamak and his family, and making out with your boyfriend, while he's been worried sick.

But he started it.

"So." Bro states, and you jump, looking up.

"Yeah?"

"Where did you go to?"

You hesitate - you don't want to get Tamak in trouble, and don't want Bro to be able to find you if this meeting... goes wrong.

"...A farmhouse." That can't be too dangerous to say, right? There are thousands of farmhouses. Pretty much everyone not in the city live on a farm. "They were willing to take us in, and not many places probably would-"

"Wait a second." Bro says, holding up a hand to signal you to hold the fuck up. "...Us?"

Shit. "Me and Kar- the redblood."

"The troll?!"

"Yeah Bro, the troll."

"You stole him?"

"Yeah."

"...Why?"

Fuuuuuuuuuck this.

"He could speak English and - I talked to him...we, we're friends, Bro. Me and him - his name's Karkat. I...I couldn't let you sell him - he's my friend." You leave out the part about you and Kar making out - not sure how your brother feels about homosexuality, or inter-species romance. Hell, you aren't sure how he'll take to inter-species FRIENDSHIP.

Apparently not too well. He's staring at you across the table from behind his shades, face gone blank. When he speaks again, he sounds tired. Not irritated or annoyed. Just tired.

"Dave. You might think he's your friend. But trolls can be pets at most. They don't understand friendship. They don't have the same emotions we do-"

"That's not true!" You yell. You surprise yourself - you didn't mean to shout. You continue in a quieter, but still excited (excited in all the wrong ways; thumping heart, racing pulse, feeling anxiety) tone; "Bro, they aren't like animals, they're just like us-"

"DAVE."

You shut up. You've only heard your bro use that tone a few other times, and it was mainly when you were a kid and were acting like a little shit. It was Bro's "listen up" voice.

"...You know our father was killed in combat, right?"

Of course you knew that. "Yeah. Against the Yevens." The Yevens were the neighboring nation that Domunus had been at war with for a few years when you were a child. They had finally reached a treaty when you were about ten years old.

"No Dave. Not against the Yevens."

Wait.

What?

"I never told you when you were younger because I didn't want you to worry when I went out to the slave barns."

You figure out what he's going to say the second before he says it.

"Our father was killed by trolls, Dave."

Catz: Strider boys back together.

I almost didn't write their father as being killed by trolls - I thought it would be too cliche. But the truth is, people don't really hate another group unless they have a reason too, a reason they believe to be legitimate. For example, many religious groups dislike homosexuals because homosexuality goes against their religious teachings (don't yall dare turn the comments section into a debate about homosexuality and religion, pm me if you wanna discuss it).

Bro is kinda like this. He hates trolls so deeply because he has a reason he feels is legitimate. How will Dave react? Let me know your guesses in the comments!

Love ya, Skittles!

~Catz


	25. Chapter 25

By trolls, huh?

You feel weird about it. On one hand, you knew trolls killed soliders; it happens all the time. Domunus sends out soliders to expand land; they come back with trolls in chains and men in coffins. One the other hand, this is your father your talking about. This is the man Bro told you about all your life - this amazing, strong man who you've always wanted to meet and never got to. And his life was ended prematurely.

And yet.

Maybe it's because you never met him that you feel so detached. It feels like Bro saying a leader was assisinated by trolls; a "woah, really? That's awful" moment, and then nothing. You never knew your father; you don't have a face to miss. Bro, on the other hand, was probably a little older then you are right now when your father died. He probably misses him like you would miss Bro if he died.

You try not to think of that and instead respond to Bro.

"...Where?"

"What?"

"Where was our father killed?"

"In the mountains. He was raiding a troll village and one of them struck him in the back of the head and killed him." His face hardens. "Filthy animals."

If Bro hadn't added that last part on there, you might not have said anything. But that made you so upset; Karkat isn't filthy, he's not an animal, he's your friend, you love him - that the words came, and you could have stopped them, but you didn't.

"Well, why was he raiding their lands? They were just protecting their homes!"

Bros head snaps up and he glares at you; you can see his eyebrows drop behind his shades. "WHAT."

"They were just protecting themsel-"

"Our father died SERVING HIS NATION. They're SAVAGES; we're better suited for the land then they are-"

"We take their HOMES from them!" You exclaim, hands palm-down on the table. "Of course they defend themselves; how would you like it if someone came in and took our land! Maybe he died serving Domunus, but Domunus SUCKS!"

"Watch what you say about your nation." Bro's voice is cold and his face is blank again. He's not your brother now; he's that man in the training field who whipped Karkat.

"Our nation sucks a big bag of dicks for violationing other peoples rights like it does!"

"They killed our FATHER!"

"Because he was TRYING TO KILL THEM!"

Everything is silent for a second. In the wake of such a loud sound, the silence is auidable.

"...You really choose to side with trolls; with the ENEMY; over your nation? Over your father? Over me?"

Jegus. In the wake of such emotional outburst, such forcefulness, the emotional openess and vulnerability in Bro's voice now is brutal. It makes your heart squeeze; a dull pain. "...I don't want to have to choose, Bro. I want to be here with you and I want to be friends with Karkat and I just - I want humans to be able to get along with trolls." Silence. "I'm sorry he died, Bro. I know you loved him, even if I never knew him. But. Trolls aren't animals. I love Karkat-" you get a raised eyebrow, and hurry to correct yourself, to lie, "not in a weird way, like a brother-"

"Like a brother. That's funny." Shit, poor choice of words. "I thought I was your brother." You want to respond, your mouth opens, but you can't find the words, and Bro keeps going. "But you choose to leave me and run off with some troll, some savage, instead." Bro glares at you.

"You aren't my brother."

His voice is cold. He's the stranger from the training yard again, the stranger with the whip covered in red blood. You can't find any trace in that cold voice of the man who raised you.

You stare up into his face, shaded by your glasses and obscured by the tears you don't let spill over, and speak in a voice you don't let crack.

"I know."

Catz: :(

Babiesssss. Poor Davey.

I really do like how this one turned out though. What did you guys think? Let me know~


	26. Chapter 26

You'd walked outside and taken Tesha's reins roughly from a startled servant who was leading her back to the stables. You guess he was assuming you were back to stay.

You'd swung up into the saddle and kicked Tesha into a gallop. You only looked back once, to see Bro standing in the doorway, face cold, watching you ride off.

You wish he hadn't seen you look back.

Now you've slowed Tesha to a walk, and you feel empty as you ride back under the hot sun. It's like there's an air bubble in your chest. You feel like you should cry, but you can't. You can't until the bubble breaks, and it's not ready to do that yet.

Instead, you just lean forward and gently rest the side of your head against Tesha's mane, breathing in the dusty smell of horse, feeling the sun-warmed fur prickling against one ear as the sunlight runs through your light hair.

When you finally get back to Tamak's farm, the sun is setting, and you still feel pretty empty. Jin is in the front yard with Karkat, hanging up white sheets, which are turning orange and red with the setting sun. Karkat is next to Tesha as you slide off her, staring anxiously into your blank face.

"...Did you..." He says, trailing off.

You just hug him, resting your face on his shoulder just as you rested it on Tesha's mane. He hugs you back after a moment, and you just stand like that.

You do not speak.

You do not cry.

Whenever Tamak or Karkat or anyone tries to ask you about how it went with Bro, you answer with the same response; "I don't want to talk about it."

And that always answers their question.

You feel really bad for the rest of that day. There's not much of it left, granted, but you stay up pretty late with Karkat. You sit under the tree with him in the warm night, arms still around his stomach, the side of your head resting against the side of his so that your earlobe presses against the shell of his ear. You just sit, feeling his breathing lift your arms, staring off across the fields and trying not to think. Which is a lot easier than you thought it would be.

You don't know when you fell asleep. The last thing you remember is sitting with Karkat in your arms, resting your head on his, before he's nudging your shoulder, murmuring, "You go asleep. Not sleep outside; too many bugs and things. Sleep inside." His English is worse than usual; probably because he's sleepy as well.

You both sneak inside and drop onto the bed. You curl up around him, throwing an arm over his shoulder and a leg over his hip, and he burrows up against you as well.

It helps you fall asleep when you can focus on Karkat's breathing rather than Bro's words.

Catz: Dave's feelings are pretty much how I feel whenever I get sad.

So, I posted a story about Karkat's backstory called Kristallnacht. I'll probably be writing a branch fic of Bro pretty soon; I'm thinking it'll be called The World I Used to Know. Check out Kristallnacht if you want to, and keep an eye out for The World I Used to Know.

Review, readers! 'till next chapter, later~


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